


down the vista of years

by ohthathurt (cloisterrific_221B)



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Feels, Established Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Kid Fic, M/M, Mutual Pining, Niall is the baby of the group fight me, OT5 Friendship, Parenthood, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-28
Updated: 2019-06-28
Packaged: 2020-05-28 13:02:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 30,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19394695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cloisterrific_221B/pseuds/ohthathurt
Summary: Zayn whispered, “So where do we go from here?”Liam shrugged, seemingly lost in thought. Then he smiled down at his boyfriend, “Forward?”Zayn smiled serenely, eyes twinkling like gold in the sun seeping through the open windows.He nodded, “Forward.”





	down the vista of years

**Author's Note:**

> The release for this fic has been long coming, I just had to write it lol. Been in my head for 2 years and been writing it for that long so again I'm thanking all the lovely people in my circle for helping me out and convincing me and pushing me to do it. You all know who you are, love you xx
> 
> Title taken from 'Piano' by D.H. Lawrence

**2012**

Zayn was perched precariously on the edge of a window sill in his hotel room, the window cracked open to allow the smoke from his cigarette to filter out. He breathed in deeply and lazily dangled a leg off from where he was sitting, swinging it back and forth, his posture screaming boredom.

It was pretty late, about 1am; he noted absently on the large clock face of his watch, so he snuffed out his cigarette and got up but left the window open. Liam had a habit of bursting in without informing and Zayn wasn’t a fan of the guilt he always felt for smoking when the other boy looked at him in disappointment.

He crossed the small hotel room; sure they could afford the luxury at the moment even though they were only a year into their first tour they were coming into some good money. But sometimes it didn’t really matter where they stayed the night, as long as it was clean and free of sneaky fans and clingy paps.

It was a rather plain cream coloured generic room, with a decent-sized bed and a side table as well as a mini-bar that Zayn didn’t bother looking into. These days he’d rather chase his hunger with smoking and distract himself with writing lyrics.

It sounded rather depressing and Zayn thought maybe to an outsider it was; but Zayn had always had a penchant for being moody and shy, shoving the boys out of his room just so he could catch a quiet breath or even taking to hiding behind Louis during press interviews because the older boy always covered for him.

At the moment, he was searching for his cellphone, where he put the damn thing he doesn’t know. He wanted to squeeze in one last call to his mum before he hit the bed, all too exhausted from the relentless rehearsals they were forced into.

He gave up as his eyes started drooping and he caught himself before he collapsed onto the floor. Yup, time for bed.

But just as he reached for the hem of his shirt to take it off, there was a small knock on his door.

Zayn groaned under his breath, not in the presence of mind to entertain any guest and especially not one of the boys.

“What?” He grumpily called from his position on the bed, hands still clutching his shirt.

The door knob twisted and it cracked open a sliver to reveal tentative brown eyes and a shock of curly hair.  _ Liam. _

And Zayn would be damned in hell before he could ever refuse Liam anything.

The thing was, the really teeny tiny thing, Zayn was mad for Liam,  _ harking _ mad.

Ever since he’d met Liam at the X-Factor, he was drawn to the other boy. His gentle smiles and warm, brown eyes had Zayn feeling things before he was 18. Before he knew it, Zayn spent every waking hour at the X-Factor around Liam, talking to him, getting to know everything about him and much to the exasperation of others, even taking to bunk with Liam during the really tough nights.

There was something quite satisfying about wrapping himself around the other boy, reveling in the little snuffles he gave during sleep, admiring the curve of his jaw with the lightest smattering of facial hair. Liam often pouted at Zayn’s tendency to grow a thick beard and Zayn took every chance to tease him, rubbing his stubble against Liam’s neck just to see him blush and squirm away from him.

But Zayn soon found out he wasn’t the only clingy one; there were times Liam would wordlessly trudge into his room and climb into bed with him, large yet nimble fingers holding onto his waist through the night, and a nose stuck into his neck. He would shove the boys around jokingly, even giving Niall a wedgie once on stage but was always so careful and painstakingly gentle with Zayn.

This is exactly why he didn’t understand the point of  _ her _ . What was the point of her?

See, Liam had a girlfriend; a very real life, actual girlfriend that he has dated for about a year now. Granted it was mostly a tumultuous relationship with sometimes on and sometimes off moods, yet watching Liam’s eyes light up at the sound of his phone ringing, because  _ she _ was calling, was almost too painful for Zayn.

His own love life was stuck at a very awkward angle because he was stupidly and secretly pining for his best mate and band-mate. 

Sure as the rest of the world knew, he too, was dating. He snorted at the thought; if one could actually call that dating. Very early on, he had foolishly made a deal none of the other boys were privy to. A few months later, enter said girlfriend, that Zayn was pretty sure he never asked out but was rather signed on.

Her band needed the push and Zayn was the way out. Only none of the other boys knew that. So when she was introduced to the other boys, it was the biggest shock. Louis had actually gasped, Niall had giggled inappropriately, Harry only gaped, but Liam’s expression was the most devastating to him.

The boy had a crushed look on his face, as if Zayn had actually broken his heart. But he can’t have. He couldn’t. Liam had his own girlfriend.

Back in the hotel room, Zayn sighed and nodded slightly to let Liam know he could come in and the boy quickly slid in and shut the door quietly behind him.

One good thing about all this was how well Liam could read Zayn’s moods. The other lads always jokingly called him the ‘Zayn-whisperer’; he was always the one to wake Zayn up or to humour him when all he wanted was a bowl of Weetabix in the morning and not a stack of pancakes,  _ Niall no. _

And just like all the other times, Liam took one look at the utter misery mixed with drowsiness on Zayn’s face and nodded determinedly to himself.

He took his shoes off and left them by the door, reaching Zayn on the bed in two long strides, before he was manhandling him down on the bed and under the sheets, and in two minutes, Liam heard Zayn’s breaths deepening signifying he was already asleep.

Liam looked down at the now peaceful face of his friend, lips quirking at the little adorable sighs Zayn always let out during his sleep. He slumped down on the bed beside him, thinking back to his own reason for coming to see Zayn.

Danielle had called him again and Liam had greeted her enthusiastically only to feel his heart sink as she sounded subdued and uttered the ominous ‘ _ we need to talk _ ’ phrase. Turns out, Liam wasn’t wrong to feel as if this was it, because by the time he ended his call, his eyes were rimmed red and his heart was not broken but utterly exhausted.

He was tired because after endless months of relentless fights for the silliest reasons, Liam was finally single. And if he was honest, he felt rather free. Free to do whatever he wanted. Free to think however he liked. And that was important to him, because his thoughts had started straying rather oddly towards Zayn.

Sure, Liam had never thought that at the age of 18 going on 19 he’d be already done with one relationship and itching to start another; he also never thought that the other relationship he wanted would be with a boy. He had always been rather skeptical on his outlook on sexuality but this past year had proven him wrong.

He had been wrong about only liking soft curves and lip-gloss sticky kisses and hair that smelled of flowers because he had started loving the way Zayn’s body wrapped around him when they cuddled. He’d also found himself addicted to the smell of Zayn’s hair, something interesting like peaches.

So, okay, he wasn’t entirely straight. He gazed down at Zayn again, wondering how long it would be before he gave his heart away to the boy.

But he knew how dangerous that was. How dangerous it was to fall in love with a boy who could never love him the way Liam craved.

***

The next day dawned on a rather chipper Louis who tried to infect everyone else with his cheerful mood. But no one was having it. Niall was slumped over the dining table in the dining area, Harry was adorably shoved into Louis’ hoodie and snuggling into said boy, while Zayn was still sleeping upstairs. They were quite literally a band of misfits, Liam thought, as he shook his head fondly.

He thought back to earlier the same morning as he woke fairly early, shamelessly wrapped around Zayn, but the boy had slept on obliviously. Liam had blushed right down to his toes at his own body’s reaction to being flush against Zayn’s back and had retrieved to his own room soon after.

A snap of fingers in front of his face shook him out of his reverie. 

Louis was saying something and Liam finally tuned in, “ – wondering what it was all about. How did the call go anyway? You didn’t tell me.” He finished and reached for his cup of tea, jostling Harry who pouted until Louis’ hand in his curls calmed him right down.

Liam gave them a small smile, if anyone could weather a storm, it was these two.

“Sorry, what are you on about?”

Louis rolled his eyes, but Liam knew he was teasing. “I was talking about the call from your girlfriend, you bastard.”

Harry piped up then, “There’s no need for profanity at breakfast, Lou.”

Louis shoved a blueberry into his boyfriend’s mouth who squawked in protest, “Hush darling, Liam’s telling us something.”

Liam rolled his eyes, “I’m not telling you anything.”

“Oh c’mon it can’t have been that private of a call. Well unless you were y’know – “ He cut himself off to mime a very rude and inappropriate gesture, that made Liam sputter into his cup of coffee.

“No! I wasn’t doing  _ that!”  _

Louis cackled at his reaction, “Come now you should try it, you never know you might like it.”

His friend waggled his eyebrows at him and Liam could only roll his eyes in response to stop the blush in his cheeks from intensifying. 

Liam sighed, he wasn’t having phone sex like Louis suggested, it was something much worse and quite serious. “If you must know, Dani and I broke up.”

None of the boys reacted, though Louis spoke, “Yeah? So? You guys always break up and then you get back together. Don’t worry, Payno, it’ll pass.”

Liam gritted his teeth, “Not this time.”

Niall looked up from his slumped position, eyes taking in Liam’s dejected posture and miserable brown eyes. He watched the stages of realization pass over his friend’s face before finally settling on sympathetic.

He looked away, the last thing he needed after any breakup was pity. 

Liam felt a nudge against his shoulder and he turned his head to see Niall’s radioactive blond hair sticking in his face, the boy’s head leaning against his shoulder, the weight a comforting relief from feeling cold all day since he left Zayn sleeping in his bed.

He blew out a measured breath; with time, he’d get over this.

But he didn’t know if he could ever get over Zayn.

***

It was a few months after that, when it happened.

They were on the Australian leg of the tour, currently staying in Melbourne in a much fancier hotel than they had anticipated. Louis and Niall were wreaking havoc in the recreational area of the hotel much to the irritation of the staff who were milling back and forth around the boys nervously.

Harry was perched on the sleek wooden flooring in front of the table tennis’ table, head moving back and forth as the two boys battled it out, laughing boisterously as their bats went flying out of their hands.

Liam was stood near the snooker table, not really playing, rather observing the boys with a small smile on his face. He ran a hand over his head ;his hair was much tamer now, more like sleek waves rather than the rat’s nest of curls that he never liked. He turned to check on Zayn who was lounging on a lonesome couch in the corner of the large room with a sketch pad in his hand, hand moving furiously.

Liam’s grin widened, Zayn was a treat to watch whenever he sketched; lips that pouted adorably as a little crinkle between his eyebrows formed in concentration and doe eyes that went unblinking for minutes.

He was close, really close to finally admitting that he liked, hell,  _ loved  _ Zayn. The boy had wormed his way into Liam’s heart and settled there like a warm and heavy feeling. He shook his head at his own sappiness.

Liam heard loud giggling and snorts from the boys and looked over at them with a frown. They were all sporting wide grins and throwing pointed looks at him. He raised an eyebrow at them and Louis’ answer was to point at Zayn and make kissy faces.

So mature.

He rolled his eyes at the lot of them; sure they did have an idea of his feelings but he knew they were all loyal to each other so they wouldn’t betray his secret to Zayn any time soon.

But that didn’t stop the three of them from annoying and teasing Liam about it. Thank heavens Zayn had a tendency to be lost in his own world for most of the time, otherwise he might’ve caught on very quickly with the idiots being as obvious as they were.

Sometimes he felt as if he was back in high school. Crushing on the popular hot kid he could never have with a bunch of useless friends who barely helped. 

Liam sighed to himself.

He couldn’t have these thoughts about his best friend, not anymore now that Zayn was in a serious relationship. Last he heard they were about to move in together, a fact that resonated pain through his very soul.

Too lost in his thoughts, he barely noticed when Niall started shouting.

“What the fuck?” The boy was heard exclaiming, and Liam jolted up from where he was leaned against the table to look at him. He was staring at an empty spot on the ground between where Zayn was sat on the couch and where the table tennis area was.

“Mate, you okay?” Louis looked just as confused as Liam felt at Niall’s outburst.

But before Niall could reply, a terribly loud crackle exploded through the room. Liam felt each hair on his body stand in reaction to feeling something electric in the air. He could smell something too, something that reminded him of thunderstorms back in Wolverhampton, the smell of rain after a storm.

By now all five of the boys had noticed something was up, even Zayn had abandoned his sketch pad to gaze nervously around him. The staff of the hotel was nowhere to be seen, the recreational area was empty save for them.

There was something charging through the air, building ominously and Liam felt his gut clench at the odd feeling before – 

A loud echoing bang burst through the room and all of the boys cringed away from the sound, Liam’s heart racing at the sound, itching to make his feet move so he could run. A bright flash almost blinded him before everything dimmed back down, and the room returned to normal. The room was now void of the weird electric charge and Liam quickly checked on the rest of the boys, exhaling a relieved breath to find them safe.

But his breath got stuck in his throat as his eyes fell on a new person, a sixth person in the room, someone who hadn’t been there before.

And right before his eyes, a young girl stood up straight, eyes widened in fear, brown hair a thick curtain around her pale face.

“Where am I?” Her light voice rang through the room as questioned the room in general. She whirled around and stopped at the sight of Zayn who was now standing in front of the couch, mouth gaping still.

But before either of them could react, Louis cut to the chase.

“Oi, how’d you get in here?” He yelled in his most threatening tone, which wasn’t much but it was enough to scare the young girl who jolted up in shock and ran towards Zayn, surprisingly hiding herself behind him and cowering.

Liam heard her shout, “Danny, help, where are we?” 

Oh god, she was delusional, the poor child, and although Liam was still perplexed as to how she got there, he’d have to call security down to escort her out, maybe find her parents while they’re at it.

He took a step towards Zayn wanting to get him out of the situation and safe behind Liam but the boy stopped him with a shake of his head and a hand held out in warning.

Liam saw Harry frown at the gesture and Niall squirmed uncomfortably at her close proximity to Zayn; they had all heard horror stories of fans getting too close and trying something horrible.

But seeing Zayn’s determined expression, he stopped, his trust for the boy overriding his need to protect him.

***

Zayn Malik was happy to inform anyone who ever asked him, that he was definitely capable of handling young children, thanks to his own little sisters. Give him babies any day and he’ll have them cooing or asleep within minutes. Give him little children to play with and he’ll have them giggling and wrestling with him by the end of the day. He had soothed many nightmares of Safaa and given a tearful Walihya several pep talks whenever she fell over and hurt herself.

That was why he held up a hand to stop Liam from approaching him and frightening the little girl behind him even more than she already was. He could feel her trembling through the little hands clutching his shirt. 

He nervously exchanged glances with a furious Louis, hoping to get across the message that he needed to calm down so they could solve this with a clear head. Harry lightly cleared his throat in the tense silence, a small but strong encouragement for Zayn to go ahead. He was glad for such amazing friends.

Careful not to jostle her too much, he moved himself around so he was facing her. Her face was pale and her wide brown eyes were darting around the room as if trying to place where she was. Then, he remembered what she had shouted as she hid behind Zayn.

“Hey, who’s Danny? Is that your brother?” He started off softly, bending his head to talk to her.

She whipped her head up to finally look at him, mouth agape as she stared at his face. A minute went by and Zayn began to squirm uncomfortably under her gaze. Finally, she spoke.

“Why do you look like him?” Her accent was local to the boys, still it wasn’t anything he could pinpoint. This was especially bizarre since they were in Australia, not the UK but maybe her parents were nearby.

Zayn shook his head to clear his thoughts; he needed to focus on calming her down, only then could they start locating her parents.

“Hey, where are your parents?”

Her lips trembled and her eyes filled with tears again, “My parents…”

“Daddy!” She sobbed suddenly and loudly, “I want Daddy!”

All the boys in the room winced in sympathy for their ears but also because no one could see a crying child and not feel some sort of ache in their chest. 

Zayn quickly moved down to his knees to comfort her but she clearly mistook him and climbed him like a monkey. With thin arms and legs wrapped around him, he struggled to get a firm grip on her, as he stood back up to face the lads.

Liam was behind him and the other boys to his side.

“Zayn, mate, you really think this is a –“

“God, Louis, come on, you’ve got sisters you know I can’t just leave her like that or hand her over to the police or something.”

Louis’ face softened, his mind probably going to the thought of his little sisters. He nodded reluctantly and let Zayn move around to face Liam.

Liam who was his entire support system in one boy. He knew a glance from him could make all this go downhill, but he was determined to convince Liam.

The little girl had now taken to hiding her face against Zayn’s shoulder, still sniffling slightly, but seemingly calm.

“Liam.” Zayn looked into Liam’s eyes and saw nothing but resignation and fondness there. His own lips quirked up and something in him eased at the sight of his friend’s expression.

At the same time, the girl jolted up in Zayn’s arms and turned around to look at Liam with wide eyes. Her mouth dropped open as she continued her staring at him. Liam smiled awkwardly at her.

Zayn snorted. “You know him?” He asked the little girl, hoping to see some sort of recognition on her face.

She reached a delicate hand out and traced Liam’s left eyebrow with her finger. The other boy was now carved in stone as he froze under the foreign touch.

Zayn’s own breath hitched. It was his favourite thing to do too, trace Liam’s eyebrows and stare fondly at him when the feeling in his chest became a little overwhelming. Each time he’d tell himself it was the last time he’d touch Liam that lovingly, but a goofy grin or a horrible wink thrown his way and he couldn’t help himself.

But as soon as she finished touching Liam’s face, she went back to hiding her face in Zayn’s shoulder. The two boys stared quizzically at each other, each baffled by her odd behaviour.

The other three boys approached, Niall unusually quiet among them. He had a grave expression on his face.

Louis cut the silence first, “So, little girl, where’s your Daddy? Is he here in this hotel?”

She peeked up from her hiding place and nodded. There was a collective sigh from all of them. So her parents weren’t far from here, all they had to do was contact the appropriate authorities.

Meanwhile, Louis continued his questioning. Normally, Zayn would have intervened and put a stop to it lest he horribly traumatized a shell-shocked child, but they needed to get her back to her parents.

“Let’s start with something easy. What’s your name? Mine’s Louis, this is Harry, Niall’s over there, the one whose face you touched was Liam and your carrier right now is Zayn.” Louis pointed at each boy as he introduced them to the girl.

To their surprise, she giggled slightly. “I know all your names.”

Harry grinned widely, “Oh good! You listen to our music? Have you heard the album?”

“Geez, shut up Harry, she’s not a fan, she’s like only 5!” Niall finally ended his silence, a teasing grin directed at Harry who elbowed him.

The little girl pouted ferociously, “I’m not 5! And I’m not a fan.”

Zayn winced mockingly, “Ouch.”

She smiled shyly at him (bingo!) from her perch in his arms.

“So how do you know our names?” Liam cut through, his face calm yet his eyes were narrowed. Zayn rolled his eyes; trust Liam to be suspicious of a child.

Surprisingly, she didn’t cower at his tone or his expression, rather put on a scathing tone herself as she retorted, “Because I know you.” The ‘duh’ was heavily implied. Niall snorted loudly and burst into muffled laughter. 

Liam blinked in surprise at her, before putting on a small smile at her little display of fierceness.

But before he could say anything else, the double doors to the recreations area burst open with a loud bang as their entourage of crew and bodyguards milled through.

“Are you boys ok? There was a power outage and the doors got jammed.”

“We’re fine,” called Louis as they approached them, “just got a visitor.”

They watched in amusement as each of the faces that greeted them were a mixture of shock, surprise, and confusion at the sight of the little girl in Zayn’s arms.

Speaking of which, his arms were getting a bit numb from holding onto a little yet hefty girl. He struggled to keep her up in his arms and sent Liam an alarming look of help.

The other boy raised his eyebrows before reaching out to take the girl from him. Liam expected her to kick him, maybe even knee him in the groin or do something drastic at being taken away from Zayn.

She did jolt up as she was transferred but after one look at who it was, she settled into his arms as quietly as she had done in Zayn’s. She wrapped herself tight around him and laid her head down on his shoulder. 

Liam’s surprise must have been visible on his face because Zayn was elbowing him, careful of the girl, and whispered, “You’re a natural.”

Liam blushed and smiled at the boy, who was now giggling at him.

But as soon as they turned back to the stern faces of their crew, they realized the fun was over now.

Right, Mission-To-Get-Little-Girl-Back-To-Her-Parents was now in action.

***

The boys were ushered quickly into a small room at the back of the hotel at the request of their manager and essentially their babysitter, Paul. The staff rushed through to help, clearly not wanting a scandal on their hands, one about a little girl lost in their hotel.

Liam kept a firm grip on the girl curled up in his arms and felt Zayn’s warm hand at his lower back as they entered the carpeted room. It was dark red in theme and mostly used for private parties and the sort of place for guests who didn’t want to be seen anywhere else in the hotel. Liam knew this because only a few days ago they’d had a scheduled interview that was filmed in this very room, so it was safe for them all to be here and figure stuff out.

He shuffled the girl around in his arms and slowly sunk into one of the sofas there, Zayn’s presence a constant beside him.

The other boys followed suit and plopped themselves in various positions all over the room as they all looked up at Paul nervously pacing the length of the small room.

At last, he came to a stop with a determined expression, “Right, we need to get her back to her parents.”

Liam knew him and Zayn were already nodding their heads, and so were the boys, eager to get her back home, wherever that was.

But they didn’t even know her name.

It was as if Zayn read his thoughts, as the other boy gently nudged the girl and she finally unraveled herself from around Liam to look at him.

“What’s your name, babe?” Zayn’s voice was as gentle as it could be, in the same tone he’d use to talk to Safaa over the phone when homesickness hit him.

Liam observed the girl’s face as she chewed furiously on her bottom lip before answering, “Aleeya.”

Zayn’s face transformed into a soft smile and Liam knew he was staring but he could barely resist not looking. “That’s good, Aleeya. Do you know your last name as well?”

The question was asked by Zayn in the same soft tone he’d adopted, so it didn’t explain to Liam why her eyes suddenly filled with tears. She shook her head violently and flung herself back against Liam rather dramatically, burying her face in his neck.

Zayn looked into Liam’s eyes, worry etched over his face. Liam could only shrug in response; her behaviour to certain questions was rather odd. She was old enough to know her last name, so the fact that she wasn’t as forthcoming about it, was truly bizarre.

A quick glance around the room confirmed everyone else was just as confused and also worried. Louis had that oddly soft look on his face whenever he talked of his little sisters and Harry was wearing a pronounced pout on his face. Niall had leaned over with his elbows on his knees, staring at Aleeya with the same concern everyone felt.

Paul cut through the silence in the room, “Right, so we’ve got a first name then. That’s good. I’ll ask the staff to run through all their guests’ names, maybe one of them has a daughter with that name.”

He then turned to address the boys, “I need you all back upstairs and laying low until this blows over. No funny business, especially Louis.” He threw a warning glance at the boy who raised his eyebrows in acknowledgement. 

The door opened again and a kind-looking lady entered the room. She was wearing the hotel’s uniform so Liam assumed she was one of the staff members sent to get Aleeya back to her parents. He gave the little girl in his arms one last squeeze and moved up off the sofa to transfer her to the lady.

The lady – Laura, her tag read – smiled genuinely at Liam, reminding him of his mum and he felt a pang at the sight. He mentally noted to call her once all of this was sorted out, she’d love to hear the story of the little girl who’d attached herself to Liam.

Laura reached for the girl as she stood with outstretched arms in front of Liam. He nudged the little girl but didn’t get a response and a chuckle from Zayn confirmed that she’d fallen asleep in his embrace.

A warm feeling permeated through him at the thought but he shook it off and moved to gently transfer the sleeping girl into Laura’s arms. He arranged her limbs so she was snug around the lady, his fingers fluttering gently through her dark hair, and stepped back as she left the room with the girl.

He felt something like loss in his chest somewhere and almost jolted at the feeling of warm fingers intertwining with his own.  _ Zayn. _

And just like that, Liam released a whoosh of breath, calming himself down, because he knew now Aleeya was in safe hands.

The door had almost closed behind Laura when Liam saw Aleeya stir and mumble in confusion as she woke. Only a few seconds after the door shut, they heard shrill screaming.

It was Aleeya screaming bloody murder – and Liam’s heart thudded in pain for her.

“Daddy! I want my Daddy, get me my Daddy! No!” There was a loud scuffle heard as the wailing continued and before Liam could throw the door open, it flung with open with a force as he saw Aleeya running towards him. 

Liam doesn’t know what part of his mind compelled him but he’d already opened his arms to receive her back but she was pulled to a stop by Paul, who hauled her up and marched her out.

The wailing got worse, it transformed into uncontrollable sobbing.

By now everyone was flustered and either running around to keep Aleeya quiet or stood there in shock unable to move. That was the boys – none of them but Liam moved as they stood in stunned silence at what was happening.

Zayn moved behind Liam and placed a hand on his shoulder, whether to stop him from running to her or to calm him down, Liam didn’t know, all he knew was that he was glad to have his presence.

Suddenly Aleeya twisted herself around in Paul’s arms to look back at them with the most devastating expression. She reached both arms out towards where Liam and Zayn stood and shouted with all her might.

The words that left her mouth froze Zayn in place, ice trickling down his body as his blood seemed to stop too.

“Baba!  _ Baba!” _

Liam heard the other boys swear confusedly under their breaths but he didn’t register it, all he heard was Aleeya scream for someone. For her Baba?

In all the time Liam had spent with Zayn, he’d been fortunate enough to be invited to dine several times with the Malik family. They were a boisterously-loud, affectionate bunch with their own customs and religious traditions that they stuck to, thanks to their Pakistani origin. All of this had been drilled into Liam the first time he’d visited with Zayn.

The boy had spent the entire time glaring daggers at his family members for trying to essentially brainwash Liam into joining them, but Liam had never enjoyed himself more, treating them all to his signature dimpled grin and laughed at all their jokes about Zayn.

To spend quality time with Zayn’s family was already a blessing, but to spend it with the love of his life beside him was something else entirely.

Of course, said love of his life didn’t know it but oh well, Liam could count his blessings.

He’d sat an entire night, spooning spicy rice into his mouth, grinning at terrible dad jokes cracked by Yaser, whom Zayn called ‘Baba’ and throwing scowls at his eldest sister whom he called ‘Doni Baji.’

Hearing Zayn converse in Urdu with his family settled something warm in Liam’s stomach that had nothing to do with the spoonfuls of his spicy rice spiked with tangy yogurt.

Hearing Aleeya scream and shout ‘Baba’ with the same intensity Zayn used to groan at his father about the dumb jokes, shocked him into oblivion.

No way, just, no fucking way.

Before he knew it, Zayn had shouldered his way out from behind Liam with a steely expression and grabbed Aleeya back from Paul, the latter of whom only looked at Zayn in surprise.

Aleeya had softened her screaming into muffled sobs against Zayn’s shoulder, her pale face flushed red and wet with tears. Liam could hear his heart break at the sight.

Paul quickly shut and bolted the door behind him as everyone took stock of the situation. It was mostly silent again, the only sounds around them that of Aleeya’s soft sobs and Zayn’s panicked breaths.

Subconsciously, Zayn began to run a hand up and down the little girl’s back causing her to push back and look him in the face.

She whispered, though it could be heard by everyone in the room, “You said you’d never let me go. Why did you let me go, Baba?”

Zayn sucked in a sharp breath at the words, knees feeling loose at the meaning behind them. He couldn’t fathom as to why she’d called him that in the first place and continued to do so. And why was she speaking about him like they’d known each other for years?

She was giving Zayn these lethal puppy eyes that could rival Liam’s. In fact, her dark brown eyes held almost the same inkling of expression that Liam often wore.

In all this, he’d forgotten the people around him.

Louis spoke first, “Uh why is she calling you that?”

Without breaking his gaze from Aleeya’s face, he answered, “No idea.”

His answer caused her to pout rather violently at him, as if she was cross with him. 

“Why did you call me that?” There was no use beating around the bush about this now, he had to adapt the Louis-way.

A deadpan expression graced her features, “Because you are.”

Niall snorted mirthlessly at the admission but otherwise everyone else remained silent. Zayn took a measured breath in and let it out.

“But I’m not your father yeah? I don’t even know you.” He raised his eyebrows at her to emphasize his point.

Aleeya scoffed, “Of course you don’t know me, silly. I’m not born yet!”

Yet? Zayn thought incredulously, though he probably shouted it out as well. He exchanged looks with all the boys, all of whom wore similar expressions to his – utter confusion.

Aleeya sighed in a long-suffering way, “I came from the future, Baba. Danny was messing with the machine and he didn’t listen to you and stay away but he did touch it, Baba, I  _ saw  _ him! He didn’t listen to you and when I told him not to touch the thing, something  _ happened _ .”

Zayn was pretty sure he looked like a fish because of how wide his mouth was open. He gaped openly at her but she continued.

“There was a white light and then I smelled something burning and I thought I was on fire but then I opened my eyes and I was here! In that room!” Her eyes were wide now, open and hopeful.

But worst of all, Zayn could hardly detect any traces of lies in her story.

Paul’s voice rang out, “Did you say future? Did she say future?”

“Yeah.” That was Liam, Zayn’s brain unhelpfully supplied, and all he wanted to do right now was be far away from here right now, preferably with Liam.

He loosened his arms from around Aleeya but the little girl didn’t seem to mind as she jumped down from his arms and walked over to Liam.

She looked up at Liam expectantly before raising her arms and pointedly staring at him. Liam let out a huff and reached down to pick her up and she soon went back to wrapping herself around him.

Liam chuckled, “You’re a cuddle-bug aren’t ya?”

Aleeya only shrugged and pulled back from him, “You let me do it all the time.”

It was Liam’s turn to freeze in shock, “I- I’m there? In your future?”

The little girl smiled for the first time and it sort of took his breath away. Tongue tucked behind her teeth, she grinned at him, “‘Course, silly! You’re all there!” She threw her arm around to gesture at the other boys stood beside them.

Niall broke out into loud laughter, clapping his hands and reminding Liam somewhat of a performing seal, while Harry flashed his dimples at her. The boy turned to look at Louis but found the boy with a hardened expression on his face.

“You really believe this, Liam?” He asked in a low voice.

Before Liam could reply, Aleeya had squirmed out his grip and stood in front of Louis, who had softened his expression to look down at her.

“Uncle Lou, you always let me stay up past bedtime.  _ And _ you check for monsters under my bed. Don’t you believe me now?” She tilted her head adorably in question.

Liam was rather satisfied to see that harsh expression melt right off his friend’s face, as the boy went down on both knees to look the little girl in the face.

“Yeah? What else do I do with you?”

Aleeya hummed to herself before answering, “You also tell me to call Uncle Haz, Uncle Harold because it annoys him!” She broke out into loud giggles at the affronted expression on Harry’s face and the rather satisfied smug expression Louis had on.

“That’s right, little one!” He raised his hand to her and she promptly gave him a high-five, both of them ignoring Harry’s annoyed huffs and Niall’s loud laughter.

Harry snapped his finger loudly, “Does that mean we can ask her our futures as well?”

Saying this he bounced over to the little girl and leaned down, eyes twinkling mischievously, “Tell me, are Uncle Louis and I married?”

Aleeya quickly grinned and nodded furiously as Harry jumped up with a loud ‘aha!’. Behind them, Louis fought to keep a straight face but Liam saw the tell-tale signs of a blush as his lips quirked into the slightest smile at the sight of Harry pointedly running circles around him.

“Yeah alright. The little one is psychic or whatever - “

Then Aleeya schooled her face into what kids might assume is a serious expression, “Also you don’t call me little one.”

Louis leaned in curiously, “Oh? What do I call you then?”

She bounced excitedly, “You call me Lee-bug!”

Louis grinned widely, turning around to look at Liam with a wicked glint in his eyes, a fact that confused Liam thoroughly.

“Well that’s adorable, baby, how about we – “

“Enough!” Zayn’s voice thundered through the room, shocking everyone to fall silent. Liam noticed how Aleeya shrunk back against Louis, a hand going up to clutch at the mess of her hair.

Liam noticed how Zayn was panting, running his fingers through his hair and effectively ruining whatever quiff he had going on. That little blond streak that annoyed Liam so much had fallen flat against his face. Every time he’d reach out to tease Zayn about the height his hair reached, he’d see that blond streak and feel cold all over. There was nothing like a lock of dyed hair to remind him that the love of his life could never be his.

“Zayn?” He let concern seep into his voice and watched with growing worry, the way Zayn’s eyes looked panicked and trapped, the way he was fidgeting with himself and his hands and specifically the way he avoided looking at Aleeya.

Before he could approach his best friend, Zayn whirled around and stormed out through the door. Liam moved just as quickly behind him but two little hands on his thigh stopped him.

Aleeya was looking up at him with those wide, brown eyes, something like fear flickered through them.

Liam felt a flash of anger at Zayn then. He knew the situation was far from rational, or even the idea that Zayn could be her father or that Aleeya was from the future was more than just a silly game that kids play. But it didn’t justify in his mind, hurting or even scaring the little girl.

She was only a child who had latched onto the familiar faces around here and while Liam was still skeptical about her being from the future or Zayn’s daughter, something about her still brought out his protective instincts.

The same way he’d throw himself in front of Zayn at the slightest hint of danger, he’d do the same for Aleeya.

Again, it was far from rational the way he thought but Liam gathered the day had only just begun.

***

Zayn was pacing around in his hotel room, the carpet rubbing against his shoes and making a grating noise, jangling his already flustered nerves. He gritted his teeth and winced at the pang of a headache forming at his temples.

Closing his eyes, he sat on the edge of his bed, letting his head fall into his hands.

This was too much to process in such little time. Aleeya, her presence, those brown eyes, and those features that were so unlike his. The way ‘Baba’ rolled off her tongue with such ease and familiarity like it was the first word she ever said. Her affinity to cling onto Zayn and even Liam and the ease with which she conversed with the other boys.

All of that put together pointed to one fact only; she knew them, rather well. 

But underneath it all, something else bugged Zayn and he knew right away what it was.

If Aleeya existed, and looked nothing like him, there was someone out there who was her other parent.

It scared him; it terrified him right down to his soul that there could ever exist a time where he’d fall for someone and start a family with them, that he’d love them enough to have Aleeya.

But he knew what truly frightened him was that it meant he fell out of love with Liam.

Something he could never do.

***

Liam knocked tentatively on Zayn’s door, though he felt absurd doing it; he’d never before felt the need to knock on Zayn’s door, he’d usually just barge in. Though, right now, it was required.

Without waiting for an answer, Liam swung the door open slowly, revealing the heart-breaking sight of his best friend in pieces inside. He had his head in his hands and was mumbling to himself.

Liam sighed and shut the door behind him. He’d given Aleeya a comforting squeeze before depositing her into Harry’s lap. He trusted the boys with her while he figured out what to do with Zayn.

He walked over to Zayn and plopped down beside him, but the boy didn’t move from his position.

While most silences between them were always comfortable, Liam felt he needed to fill this one.

“You know when I auditioned at X-Factor I didn’t think I’d get into a band. I thought that was all left in the 90s y’know.” He turned his head towards Zayn who was now looking at him through his fingers.

“Didn’t think I’d get a best friend out of it either.” He nudged Zayn gently, prompting a small smile out of him.

Liam sighed and looked down, “Look Zayn, I’m not good with words. Not the way you are, at least. Though I s’pose I could get Louis up here to do the pep talk – “

“No.” Zayn interjected in a soft voice, “You’re enough, Liam. You’re always enough.”

And that – 

Liam had to physically stop himself from leaning down and kissing that stupid face of his. Sometimes that brilliant brain would churn out the most frustrating words Zayn has ever said to him.

That’s what he was. Zayn was frustrating, and it was absolutely frustrating to love him.

But Liam knew he’d never stop.

Just then the door to the room opened with a loud bang, causing both the boys to jolt apart, cheeks suspiciously flushed.

Harry and Niall ran in with Louis hot on their heels and Aleeya hanging off Louis in what could be considered a monkey hanging onto a branch.

Shrill screams were heard but this time they were all happy as Aleeya bounced off Zayn’s bed and giggled as Louis attacked her with tickles. Liam stood in the corner and just smiled at all his boys – and girl. 

He noticed Zayn stiffen at the sight of her but before Liam could intervene, the other boy had already reached out for Aleeya.

She climbed onto his lap with ease and sat there staring at him with childlike wonder.

Zayn ducked down to look her in the eyes, “I’m sorry I yelled, baby. But you gotta admit, you surprised me!”

This sprung a giggle out of the little girl as she flung herself off him and onto the bed, “I got you this time!”

Zayn stopped her from bouncing around on the bed again to talk to her, “Can I ask a few questions about the future, pumpkin?”

Aleeya stopped jumping around on the bed to stare at him with a panicked gaze.

Zayn softened his expression and held his arms out for a hug which she complied with quickly.

He saw Liam’s face scrunch up in thought and before Zayn’s mind could descend into yet another chapter of ‘Ways in Which Liam is Beautiful’, the other boy approached all of them snuggled on the bed.

“Alright, champ, quiz time!” Liam announced and to the surprise of everyone present, Aleeya gasped and straightened immediately on Zayn’s lap, facing Liam and looking ready.

“Okay then. Uhm. Aleeya,” began Liam, in a rather serious tone, though Zayn could see a teasing glint in his eyes, “how many godfathers do you have?”

Aleeya’s face screwed up in concentration, much like Liam’s had earlier on, and she held out little fingers that she started counting on.

But Louis cut to the chase, “Oh c’mon that’s not fair! What if it’s not one of us? What if it’s none of us because Zayn decided to faff off to nowhere?” 

Zayn was already rolling his eyes at the dramatic whine Louis gave before flopping over on Harry who accepted the weight of his boyfriend with no complaints.

Liam shook his head at the sight of them as Niall started climbing on the both of them, causing a cacophony of shrieks and yells.

Aleeya caught his attention as she shouted, “Three! I’ve got three!”

“Well done baby. Now how about godmothers? You have any of those?” Zayn asked her with a fond smile as she went back to counting on her little fingers.

But Liam heard none of that, because three? Only three? That’d mean one or more of the boys was not her godfather. Could Louis be right about Zayn breaking ties with one of them?

Liam felt his heart could tear into two at the moment as he realized with a sickening jolt that it could be him – he could be the odd one out.

Was Liam not in Zayn’s life anymore? No that wasn’t possible, then Aleeya wouldn’t recognize him or even be that comfortable with him.

He shook his head at the whirling thoughts and tuned back into the conversation. The boys were now swearing at bruises and scratches on their body as one by one each filed out with a shout of goodnight.

Aleeya leaned her head against Zayn’s shoulder. She was yawning as he talked quietly to her.

Soon, her eyes drifted shut and Liam smiled at the sight. He made his way over to them and leaned down just as Zayn whispered goodnight to her. Liam did the same and Aleeya only stirred to mumble out an almost incoherent ‘Night Da’ as sleep claimed her.

Zayn chuckled quietly at the sight and the two boys worked to lay her gently down onto Zayn’s pillow. Liam gently worked her shoes off her feet and peeled back her socks and left all of it at the end of the bed. Zayn draped the sheets over her and flung his own shoes off as he got comfortable.

Suddenly, a thought came to his mind and he jumped up and looked at Liam with a horrified expression. The other boy only raised an eyebrow so Zayn came closer to where Liam was stood and whispered so as not to wake Aleeya.

“Don’t leave me alone with her. What if she gets up in the middle of the night for the loo?” He asked Liam with a fearful expression.

Liam’s lips twitched with amusement, “Then you let her go, Zayn, it’s not that difficult. She’s old enough.”

The other boy hesitated again and whispered, “Okay but what if she gets up before me? Liam, you know I sleep like the dead and then she’ll wander off and get lost or something and – “

“Zayn! God I didn’t know you were such a worry-wart!” Liam took him by the shoulders and gazed directly into his eyes, a fact that could very well make unshakable Zayn Malik melt like butter on sight.

But Zayn rubbed the palms of his hands on his jeans nervously, “Yeah but Li – “

“Alright, how about this? I’ll sleep here in the room with you two and you calm down?” 

Instantly, the presence of Liam in the room during the night both relaxed and excited Zayn. He was terrified at the thought of Aleeya leaving the room in the middle of the night and walking out of the hotel where a thousand dangers were ready to harm her. And yet, Liam being here for a whole night in the same room as Zayn warmed something in the pit of his stomach.

Just being around Liam had him in a love-sick state and Zayn didn’t know how long it was going to be, before it all came out.

He nodded vigorously to Liam, “Yeah, that’d make me feel loads better, thanks.”

Liam only smiled serenely at him, “No problem, mate! Now c’mon get me a pillow.” The boy then turned around and tried to scout the best place on the floor to sleep.

Zayn chanced a look at his bed where Aleeya was slumbering peacefully before looking back at his friend. He bit his lip and mentally made a decision.

“Liam? Why don’t you share with us?”

He saw the way Liam froze into place, shoulders coming up and stiffening, his body barely even moving to breathe. It was a full ten seconds before Liam moved to face him and –

His face was flushed, eyes wide and panicky, like his own had been only a while ago.

Zayn frowned at his expression, “You okay mate?”

Liam gave a jerky nod and a forced smile because Zayn knew when he smiled genuinely, those beautiful brown eyes would lIght up. Not that he’s noticing stuff like that or whatever.

Liam gulped visibly, “Uh not sure, mate. There’s barely space and – “

“C’mon Li! It will be like the good old days.” Zayn gave Liam a hopeful smile.

Liam was reminded of the time when they were both too young to know the turbulent mess they’d gotten themselves into; snuggled on a tiny bed provided to them, horribly homesick but also sick with excitement of what was to come.

He returned Zayn’s smile and thought of ways he could fling himself out of the open hotel window. Being in such close proximity to someone like Zayn? The boy he was insanely in love with and intensely attracted to? This was going to be fun, he bitterly thought, as he allowed Zayn to make space for him on the queen-sized bed.

It was a proper squeeze; Aleeya still curled up in the middle of the bed, Liam on one side and Zayn on the other; both boys faced each other as the only sounds surrounding them were Aleeya’s little snuffles and – 

She mumbled something incoherent in her sleep but it was loud enough for both boys to hear. Zayn smiled at the sound but never broke eye contact with Liam and all Liam could do was prevent his heart from stopping in place.

In an ordinary hotel room, he found peace in the perfect little cocoon; staring at the love of his life as he finally closed his eyes and drifted to sleep. He wrapped a gentle arm around Aleeya who shifted unconsciously towards him, her soft breath against his shoulder.

Liam took a deep breath. If he wasn’t so scared to admit it, he’d let everyone know that he’d finally found his home away from home.

***

A loud ringing sound jolted Zayn out of a serene dream of him and Liam taking Aleeya to the park. It was full of her giggles and excited shouts as Liam cuddled him on the park bench. It was when dream-Liam leaned down to demand that he pick his phone did he surface to consciousness.

Liam was groaning at him from the other side of the bed, Aleeya in his arms, “Pick up the damn phone, Z.”

“Hm wha- ?” Struggling to raise his arms, he reached across to the small bedside table and slammed his hand down on his phone. It was ringing relentlessly and he knew who was calling since anyone else who’d call him at this hour was sleeping or – 

“Hi, Mum.” Zayn mumbled sleepily into his phone as a cacophony of noise received him.

_ “Wali I told you it was too early!” _

_ “But Mum I checked it online!” _

“What’s happening?” Zayn slurred into the phone, barely coherent to remember that Liam and Aleeya were still across the bed, sound asleep. Well mostly, since Liam had already started fumbling with the sheets.

He heard a coo from a voice on the other end of the line, “How’s my baby? Not homesick are we?”

Zayn smiled in his sleepy state, though still annoyed at being woken up so early, he was glad his Mum had called.

“Yeah, Mum, I’m good. Obviously missing you guys a lot.” 

With his eyes closed, he had a hurried conversation with his Mum, promising to call her on Skype later since they were free for a few days before they played a show.

Setting his phone back on its place, he rolled over to face the other side and immediately fell in love all over again.

Aleeya had completely burrowed herself into Liam’s chest, only her hair was visible over the sheets and the hoodie Liam had on when he fell asleep. The other boy was still asleep, and Zayn felt he could spend the rest of his day staring at the soft brown hair flopped over on his forehead and trace those lips he’d had too many dreams about.

The fact that that was  _ his  _ daughter cuddling in sleep with the love of  _ his _ life sparked a whole other level of possessiveness within him. He felt like he should leap off cliffs and shout his contentment out to everyone.

Breathing in deep, he allowed his eyes to naturally droop and faded back to sleep, with the last two things in his vision being Liam and Aleeya.

***

When he woke again, he was mercilessly tangled in the sheets and the bed was completely empty save for him. No wonder he felt cold; Liam was like a furnace. He looked around the room and it was just as ordinary as it was last night when he’d camped up in bed with Aleeya in between – 

Aleeya. Where was she? Liam wasn’t in the room either but…

Zayn stopped cold, ice running through his veins. What if he’d dreamed it all? What if there was no kid from the future who clung onto him and Liam for the entirety of yesterday. There was no such thing was there? Just his overactive imagination.

He shuddered a breath in and tears stung his eyes. He’d made a right fool of himself too.

Expecting sweet, angelic Liam to stick around to cater to Zayn’s homesickness was a big misunderstanding on his part. He had a  _ girlfriend.  _ A person who probably isn’t as needy as he is. 

He sniffled pathetically and moved to hide under his blankets when – 

A piercing shriek and a low laugh from the adjoining bathroom shocked him out of his comfort. He jolted up and was on his feet and running towards the sound.

Aleeya, his sweet, darling child, was stood up on an upturned bucket at the sink, her brown hair a messy halo around her face and she was grinning widely while running a toothbrush over her teeth.

Liam was still dressed in his hoodie and jeans and stood behind her facing the mirror, murmuring encouragements all along.

_ Liam was giving his daughter tooth-brushing advice. _

As ridiculous as that thought was, a hysterical laugh bubbled up his throat. Before he could let it out, his hysteria turned into incredulity. 

“Is that  _ my _ toothbrush?” He practically shouted into the walls of the tiny bathroom, causing Aleeya to jolt in fright and stumble off her bucket while Liam instinctively caught her by her arms.

He shot a glare at Zayn who smiled apologetically before addressing Aleeya, “Sorry for scaring you, baby. Is that really my brush?”

A sheepish smile sprung out of the little girl’s mouth as she looked pointedly towards Liam whose lips were twitching amusedly.

Zayn glared at the both of them with a deadpan expression, and it was soon after that Aleeya broke.

“He said I could use it!”

Liam let out a mock gasp, “Traitor.” Aleeya smiled prettily at him, simpering as she stepped off the bucket and out of the bathroom.

Liam laughed loudly, dragging Aleeya back by her shoulders, “Baby, wash your mouth first!”

At that, Zayn’s eyebrows flew up and Liam noticed too as he looked up at Zayn warily before biting his lip and averting his eyes.

“Uh, listen, I’ve got to get stuff from my own room and wash up. See you later, yeah?” With that, Liam was rushing out of the hotel room leaving Zayn gaping and Aleeya practically showering in the sink.

He quickly admonished her and went about to get her cleaned up.

***

Zayn rushed down the halls of their hotel, fully dressed but running late literally. Aleeya was on his heels, dressed in the clothes from yesterday because none of them had new dresses or clothes in her size.

He made a small note to ask someone to get at least a few outfits she could rotate around until – 

Until she went back. The thought hurt Zayn’s heart more than the running did.

He swung the door open, pausing the warm-up the rest of the boys were in the middle of. But it didn’t matter much because soon Aleeya had entered in behind and instantly had the attention of three of her uncles.

The fourth one, and Zayn still had to ask Aleeya what she called Liam, was sat in the corner of the room scribbling on a notepad.

Curious, he shuffled closer to him, “Hey babe what you writing?”

Liam looked up at him and smiled, no traces of awkwardness or panic that he’d seen in the morning in his eyes.

“Nothing just a few lyrics that were hanging around in me head.” He shrugged endearingly at Zayn who smiled back and tilted his head to admire the boy’s bashful grin.

The awful noise coming from the piano had both of them turning towards the sound and Liam laughed; Aleeya was sat on the bench, Louis had hopped up onto the grand piano, while Niall was dutifully turning notes and Harry was conducting. 

They looked like the most dysfunctional family to date, and yet they were his family. After thismorning’s freak-out, Zayn was still on edge. He was still terrified he could lose all this all at once. What if someone from Aleeya’s future came back and took her away? And with her would be gone all his hopes. Without her, he’d - 

Liam’s ‘hey’ had him looking back towards the boy who had on a serious expression.

“What are you going to tell your family?”

Zayn’s gut clenched with worry, he hadn’t even thought of that yet, “I don’t know. How do I tell my parents they suddenly have a granddaughter who isn’t born yet? And I’m pretty sure Safaa is only a few years older than her.”

Liam’s eyes lit up, “Great! Then it should be easy disguising her as a cousin or something.”

“Yeah because she looks exactly like us,” Zayn snorted.

But Liam looked at him confusedly and Zayn snickered at his expression.

“Babe she looks more like your family than mine! She looks too white to belong in my family.” He grinned at Liam whose smile dropped slightly. Zayn chastised himself mentally, they hadn’t dared to discuss the topic of Aleeya’s other parent yet. And frankly, he wanted to keep it that way. Nothing could devastate him more than to discuss the possibility of someone else other than Liam in his life.

Liam turned the conversation around again, “What will you do during the break?”

Zayn gulped at the thought and looked to where Aleeya was now wrestling playfully with Niall; her giggles crisp clear in the small private party room.

“I’ll have to take her back to mine, I think. At least, family will be there, yeah?” He looked up at Liam in the end and was puzzled by the boy’s subdued expression. He was worrying a small piece of thread at the edge of his hoodie with his fingers.

Zayn reached over and gently grasped Liam’s fingers, ignoring the traitorous jolt of his heart at the contact.

“You okay babe?” 

Liam finally looked up and Zayn was confused because he thought he saw a flash of something in his eyes. But before he could push for an answer, Aleeya’s melodic voice rang out, “Babes, please join us?”

The boys laughed at her use of the endearment and Liam managed a smile too, but Zayn noticed, worryingly that it never reached his eyes.

***

He needed to get a grip, Liam mentally reprimanded himself, as the boys bounded down to the hotel’s dinner service hall. Now wasn’t the time to dwell pathetically over his emotions, least of all in front of Zayn. If he continued to be so open, the other boy would catch on very quickly. Liam didn’t want the truth to come out now, at a time when Zayn was already occupied with Aleeya.

A small hand clamped onto his and he looked down to see the little girl had joined him. Something warmed in his gut because Aleeya wasn’t looking to call him or ask him for something, just needed Liam’s touch for comfort.

He smiled down at her and glanced up at Zayn who was busy texting someone. He stifled down the bitter thought that it might be his  _ fiancée _ .

But Liam didn’t want any part of it. He hadn’t even asked his best mate the details of the proposal, or where he got the giant diamond ring from. He didn’t even get the chance to rib his best mate over the cheesy lines or reactions after the engagement.

No, was too busy being in love with his best mate, to be obsessing over his engagement.

He should be happy for Zayn really. So many people didn’t have the love of the people they truly wanted but his best mate had that. Unlike himself, Liam thought dejectedly but held tighter onto Aleeya’s hand as he heard her murmuring absently to herself.

It happened suddenly; one moment he was drifting off in his mind about how alone he’d be in the future and the next moment he heard a bang and a surge of fans rushed into the hallway.

Liam was sure the boys ahead could handle themselves, so he swung Aleeya up by her arms and into his own, feeling the tremble in her limbs as she wrapped tightly around him.

Frantically, he searched for a way out; ahead of him Preston had wrestled the boys into an empty and open room but him and Zayn were left out and too far away from their own rooms.

They’d have to run down the stairs to get to their hotel rooms but who even knew how flooded with fans that area was. Working completely on his instinct, he kept a strong arm around the little girl in his arms and grabbed Zayn’s hand with the other and the two ran down the hall in the opposite direction.

Thinking quickly, Zayn stopped suddenly to open a door to what looked to be a supply closet and they all squeezed into the uncomfortable and damp smelling room.

Liam heaved a sigh of relief, his own eyes mirroring the fear in Zayn’s.

They’d been caught in the middle of a fan mob before, but it was them surrounded by their own security and the fans only wanted pictures and autographs from them.

It was no place for a little girl, though. Liam shuddered as he thought of what could’ve happened to her in the middle of that. Or worse it could have turned into a stampede and Aleeya’s little legs could barely have kept up – 

A warm hand on the side of his face caused him to open his eyes. Zayn was staring tenderly at him, like he knew the worst case scenarios Liam’s brain was cooking up. The other boy nodded at him reassuringly and that was enough for sappy Liam to come out.

He smiled down just as affectionately at Zayn before shifting around to see if Aleeya was alright.

But the little girl didn’t budge from his arms; her tight grip hadn’t loosened one bit. He shook his head at Zayn who bit his lip and gestured at Liam to turn around.

Trying to keep traitorous thoughts about his best mate’s lips out of his mind, Liam gently turned around not wanting to jostle Aleeya too much.

From behind him, Liam heard soft whispers, “Hey baby we’re sorry that happened. We’re fine now, yeah?”

Only a whimper was heard from her in return, and Liam’s heart broke for her.

Zayn continued, “Hey no nothing’s wrong. See Uncle Liam has you here, he didn’t let go and Baba won’t either.”

Liam smiled at his soft tone; it always did funny things to his heartbeat whenever he’d hear that tone of voice from Zayn and now was no exception.

Aleeya moved a bit and Liam realized she shook her head and mumbled something.

“What’s that, love? I didn’t get it,” Zayn asked behind him.

Aleeya lifted her mouth from where it was pressed into Liam’s shoulder, “I said he’s not  _ Uncle _ Liam.”

Liam’s breath hitched and a pain reverberated in his chest somewhere as he heard Zayn ask more questions; but he was done.

In hindsight, he should’ve stopped and ignored his own resulting pain to ask her why there was frustration in her voice. But at that moment, his heart  _ broke _ .

He shrugged Aleeya’s arms and legs off of his body and quickly put her down on the filthy carpet in the small room. Ignoring her whimpered protest and Zayn’s questioning look, he quickly turned the door knob and moved to walk back out in the hallways.

It was quiet now so he knew that their security teams had done their jobs and were probably looking for all of them. Liam was breathing heavily but he knew that wasn’t from the running or carrying Aleeya. No, that was all thanks to the stupid little world he’d made up in his head where he pretended his best mate’s child actually liked him.

He had been too occupied with concocting a make-believe future where he was still best friends with Zayn or the possibility of more. None of this was actually real or would be real; they’d all grow up to go their own ways and Zayn would forget him and he’d never – 

Liam tried to silence the screaming in his head right now but he couldn’t. Somehow with all of what was happening, what hurt him the most was that there was no way he was in the little girl’s future.

Aleeya didn’t look like Zayn’s fiancée at all but that didn’t mean Zayn didn’t go on to have more children.

He bit his lip as his mind helpfully provided a mental view of a picturesque family; Zayn with a faceless blonde, sitting near a Christmas tree and by their feet loads of presents for the family. Little screaming children running around, and among them was Aleeya. Looking happy with them, she turned to look at Liam which was when her smile dropped and the door closed.

The sound of an actual door slamming shut brought him out of his reverie. Mentally, he slapped himself for making up such melodramatic scenarios in his head and saw that his feet had carried him to his own room.

Without looking around, he entered his room and found it the way it was when he left. Thankfully not even housekeeping was allowed until they asked for it or had vacated the hotel. He bolted the door behind him and slumped face-down on his bed.

His phone vibrated in his pocket and he groaned loudly but dug his phone out anyway. Checking it, he felt guilty when he saw a number of messages and missed calls from his mum.

That was when he checked his calendar and swore under his breath.

They were all due to fly home tomorrow for their two week long break.

***

Back near the supply closet, Zayn observed the way Aleeya’s shoulders slumped like she was defeated. She looked up at him with sad, doe-like eyes, “Did I say something wrong, Baba?”

Zayn felt anger bubble up red hot inside of him. Liam had no right to do that to his daughter; Aleeya was clearly hurt by Liam’s dismissive behaviour, especially after the little girl had been so afraid.

Just because – of what exactly? 

He was confused by Liam’s behaviour; sometimes he’d be playing with Aleeya and acting exactly like her guardian but then the next moment he’d turn around and leave like he’d never known her.

He frowned down at the floor and took hold of Aleeya’s shoulder, guiding her gently down the stairs and to his own hotel room.

The place was a mess but that’s how Zayn lived anyway; Liam would always turn his nose up at the dirty clothes dotting the floor and the mess in the bathroom every time Zayn would shower.

But right now the thought of Liam ached.

His phone vibrated in his pocket and pulling it out he saw it was a message from his mum.  
  


__ (19:07) Meet us on skype love  
  


Despite everything, Zayn smiled down at the message. Just a view and the voice of his mum and sisters was enough to lift his mood from whatever. But looking around he saw there was one problem.

Should he explain Aleeya now before he went home or bring her home anyway?

After a few minutes of contemplation, he decided it would be best to let them know now, so they knew what to expect when he got home.

He cringed at the thought of their reactions or worse the thought of his family thinking he’d kidnapped a random child.

Calming himself, he took a deep breath in and whooshed it out slowly, smirking at Aleeya who was copying him. She scrunched her nose up at him and grinned through her crooked teeth.

He booped her nose affectionately, “Wanna talk to my mum? What do you call her by the way?”

“Naani! And yes please.” She chimed in and Zayn was proud of his future self for teaching her the proper names.

“Alright I’m gonna talk to your Naani first then introduce you slowly yeah?”

Aleeya nodded dutifully and accepted Zayn’s offer of his cellphone where he knew several games would keep her quiet until he needed her. She leaned up to kiss him on the cheek and settled at the edge of the bed.

He chuckled internally at the thought of his mum’s reaction at being called ‘grandmother’ in Urdu. He quickly connected to the internet on his travel laptop and waited for the call to connect.

Zayn nervously drummed his fingers lightly on the keyboard of his laptop, taking note of Aleeya sitting at the edge of the bed studying him. He shot her a reassuring smile at which she giggled and went back to her games.

She was quite observant as he’d noticed, and she caught onto emotions so well too so it was no surprise to him that she looked to Zayn here to try and gauge his reaction.

Especially after Liam.

He gritted his teeth and willed himself to be calm for the sake of the important and upcoming conversation. The beeping of the call stopped and the blue screen gave way to a blurry view of his mum’s kitchen.

On the screen was a smiling Trisha and beside her, his eldest sister Doniya. Both were grinning widely at him though he did see his mum’s eyes shine suspiciously with tears.

They all said their enthusiastic hello’s and Zayn heard his two youngest sisters in the background squabbling about something and he laughed loudly, feeling his stress melt away.

They all chatted away animatedly until Zayn realized he’d completely forgotten to introduce the subject of Aleeya.

“Alright love now we’ll let you rest up, yeah? Long flight – “

“Mum.” He gently interjected and his Mum stared at the screen questioningly.

Zayn bit his lip nervously, “Um, one more thing to tell you.”

His Mum nodded encouragingly but Zayn gulped audibly and Doniya who had been ready to leave suddenly gave him all her attention.

The two women knew something was up, the way Zayn’s eyes blinked with panic and the way he’d swallow all the time like he was trying to prevent a dry throat.

“What is it, sunshine? Is it something bad?” Trisha’s eyes were wide with concern.

Zayn shook his head; Aleeya was not at all bad news for him, she was the only good he had right now, apart from his family.

He looked off screen and saw that she was practically slumped over, the phone in her hand still playing the game’s soundtrack.

“Hey, babe, you wanna come say hi?” Zayn called out gently to the little girl, who shifted a little before opening her eyes and staring blearily at him.

“You wanna come here?” He asked again and rubbing her eyes she nodded.

Smiling at her, he set the laptop down flat on his bed before reaching for Aleeya. With ease, he folded her sleep-slumped body onto his lap and looked at the screen.

His Mum and Doniya both gaped at what they were seeing; a brown haired little girl in Zayn’s lap.

“That’s a child.” It was Doniya who said it, stating the obvious while the two women stared in complete shock back at them. Zayn tried to put a brave face on, sending them a tentative smile which dropped completely once he realized his sister and Mum were entirely incapacitated to respond.

Another excruciatingly long minute passed; he looked over at Aleeya who was slumped against his chest, his phone still in her small hand, tapping away at a game.

“Zayn, whose child is that?” His Mum broke the silence at last, her shrill voice echoing in the empty bedroom and making him cringe; this wasn’t going to be good.

Both women’s eyes were wide with incredulous expressions on their face and he opened his mouth to relay the whole story to them but Aleeya cut to the chase.

“Naani!” She grinned down at the screen, the phone laying ignored in her lap. 

His Mum promptly choked at hearing the words while Doniya mumbled to herself silently. 

Aleeya jolted at the sight of Doniya in the corner as well and shouted at the screen, “Doni Khala, you’re here too!” 

“Apparently I am. Zayn what is she saying? Have you - oh my God- did you have a child without us knowing? You must have been twelve or something, what -”

Zayn shook his head at the accusations Doniya was throwing at him, while his Mum was still in silent shock.

“No, no Doni Baji, please let me explain.”

With that, he quickly launched into a thorough explanation of the events that transpired over the past two days, and with each sentence his heart sank because his family’s expressions grew stern and grave.

They clearly didn’t believe him.

“Mum I swear it’s all true. The boys know it too, and so does Paul. I can’t leave her here alone, I’m taking her home with me - to you guys, you guys can finally meet her!”

He tried his absolute best to sound convincing but the grainy image of his sister and Mum barely moved and his shoulders slumped in defeat.

“Okay Zayn. Bring her home, we’ll talk then.” His Mum stated and Zayn’s heart soared at hearing the words. He looked excitedly down at Aleeya who had tucked her head in his chest and was fast asleep. He chuckled at the sight - if anything at least she got his knack for sleeping through anything.

A sigh from the computer sounded, making him look up and realize the video was still on. His cheeks flushed at the thought of his family seeing the fond side of him, fawning over his own daughter like a true  _ father.  _ Seriously, what was his life?

“I don’t know if it’s all true or just a scam, darling, but I want you to be safe. Is it alright your Baba can come get you from the airport? I’ll feel so much better about that.” Trisha’s face was crumpled with concern, and Zayn’s heart clenched at the sight.

“‘Course, Mum, wouldn’t mind at all. Though maybe you should let him know first about Aleeya, yeah?”

Doniya finally let out a soft chuckle, “Imagine that sight. “Surprise you’ve got a granddaughter!””

They all laughed but their smiles were quickly chased away when they heard a loud, “I have a  _ what _ ?”

Zayn blanched when he realized his father had come home at the worst time. Doniya quickly muttered a ‘time for damage control, love you, safe flight’ before logging off. He willed his heart to slow down, hoping the women of his family could handle his Baba. Which they probably could, his Baba was too soft to be harsh over his children.

Probably the same way he was, he thought as he smiled down at his daughter, his own flesh and blood. He pressed a quick kiss to her head and helped her settle down next to him, careful not to wake her. He quickly powered down his laptop and set it aside, slumping down for his own nap. The day had been far too exciting for them all. 

But just as he was drifting away, the thought of Liam reared its head into his mind. He nudged it away, begging for sleep to overtake him, because the thought of not having Liam around him anymore was too painful to think of.

Liam couldn’t be around Aleeya for whatever reason he’d decided on, and Zayn wouldn’t force his best mate to be around his daughter either. But that meant losing Liam, and just the thought felt like it could shatter him. Maybe Aleeya was the only thing keeping him from completely losing himself to the pain.

***

Liam didn’t know what he was going to do with himself; he couldn’t sleep, the lamp still on in his hotel room, sheets askew as he tossed and turned in his bed. He exhaled loudly, rubbing his hands over his eyes like that could somehow make him sleepy enough. All the boys had an early flight the next morning, stopping over in Dubai before continuing to London together. After that they’d say their goodbyes at the airport and go their separate ways.

They’d all done it a few times over for it to be routine but the added stress of facing Zayn and Aleeya after yesterday made him want to travel separately.

It was a stupid thought though; being wary of the two people who brought him the most joy in the world right now. But he couldn’t risk getting attached so severely, especially not to Aleeya who was Zayn’s daughter. A daughter he shared with some other woman from his future.

More specifically, a daughter that meant there was no space for Liam in his future.

The thought sent a pang to his heart, and he wondered when he’d stop feeling heartbroken at it all. Probably never. But Aleeya knowing him, or knowing of him, was scarcely a comforting thought. The girl had very easily denied his role as her uncle in her life.

Liam gulped down the resulting panic of facing them both in the morning. Least he could do was try to sleep so the bags under his eyes didn’t concern Zayn like he knew they always would.

And so he shoved a pillow over his head and clenched his eyes shut, willing his body to drift off into a dreamless sleep.

***

The next morning was just as awkward as Liam had anticipated. All their bags and luggage were packed away in the vans they were travelling in, to get to their airport. The boys had to first gather in the lobby and quickly make their way out, to avoid any fans or media from spotting them. 

Of course, there had been the issue of Aleeya, and how they were going to have her come out, so Paul had the driver take her to the van first where she sat waiting in the backseat for the rest of them to join.

With the little girl safely tucked away from prying eyes, Liam felt like he could breathe a little easier, though there was still the problem of facing his best mate.

Zayn was stood sleepily silent in the corner, rubbing his eyes and adjusting his beanie that Liam knew was to hide his un-styled hair, like that could affect how gorgeous he looked.

He realized he’d been shamelessly staring when Zayn looked up and smiled tentatively at him. Liam found it difficult to smile back but quirked his eyebrows at him and walked over. He needed - no, wanted desperately - for their friendship to remain intact.

He didn’t mind loving Zayn quietly and from afar, but losing the other boy completely would render him useless. There was no Liam without Zayn, as sappy as that sounded in his mind.

Reaching behind the other boy, Liam set a hand against his waist, to support him or to comfort himself he didn’t know. But he felt relieved when Zayn instantly leaned into his arm, no questions asked.

“Alright boys, heads down and just walk.” Paul announced as he led the way out towards the glass doors of the hotel, their security tailing and huddling around them tightly.

They all entered the blissfully cool interior of the van, swivelling the door shut, blocking out the sweltering Aussie heat. 

Zayn instantly looked for Aleeya who was sat in the back seat that was mostly used for storage. Her little legs and body were squished together to fit her as she was engrossed in her games. He smiled at her, and reached back to attempt to push her hair away from her face and to tame it but the little girl just batted his hands away without looking up.

Louis snickered at Zayn’s offended expression while Harry cooed and reached over to engage her in light conversation about the game she was playing.

Niall sat in the front seat, silent with sunglasses on. Liam pursed his lips at the sight.

In all the confusion and drama, he’d completely forgotten to ask about Niall’s knee. The other boy had started complaining of pain again recently and Liam wanted all his boys to be safe and healthy before they even thought of doing another tour or album.

He reached over to clasp Niall’s shoulder, “You good?”

Niall threw an affectionate smile back at him, “Took some painkillers, Payno, stop worrying.”

Liam sighed, relieved that he still had his smile on. He reached over to kiss Niall’s cheek to which the boy grinned widely. Niall was the baby in their group, beating Harry’s age only because the latter was so good at mothering them all.

Speaking of the devil, “Hey! Where’s my kiss?”

Liam looked back to see Harry wearing a pronounced pout, but there was a teasing glint in his eye. He rolled his eyes and reached over to press a quick kiss to his curls. Harry sat back with a smug expression while Louis rolled his eyes.

“You’re such a needy baby.” Louis complained, even though Liam knew it was all done in fondness.

Harry looked at Louis then smirked at Liam, “I think someone else wants a kiss for himself. After all you really are - “

Liam groaned long and loud because he knew what was coming.

“ - Daddy Direction!” They all crowed, even Zayn joined in, laughing loudly with the boys. Liam only rolled his eyes and ignored them but Harry was relentless.

“Go on then Louis, go get your kiss from Daddy Direction - “

But Louis was already reaching over to press an intentionally wet kiss to Liam’s cheek which had him wiping his cheek in disgust.

Suddenly, through all the laughter and shouts, a light voice joined them, “I want a kiss from Daddy too!”

And then complete silence.

All the boys, including Liam turned to look at Aleeya sitting at the back, with hopeful eyes trained at Liam. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see even Niall had turned back to look.

Louis’ awkward, stilted laugh broke the silence. 

“Yeah ‘course I’m sure Daddy Direction here can give out as many kisses, eh?”

He turned to look at Liam, something important flashing in his eyes, like he was warning Liam not to fuck this up. Zayn, too, was eyeing him with concern and biting his lip, like he didn’t expect this to turn out well.

Liam cleared his throat finally, “Uh yeah sure why not?” He laughed to ease the tense atmosphere in the van as Aleeya started enthusiastically climbing over the seats to reach him.

Her eagerness had him chuckling as she finally landed, with much help from Louis and Harry, onto Liam’s lap. Liam dutifully pressed a kiss to each cheek of hers and she grinned brightly at him, the sight clenching his heart with the love he already felt for her.

It was absurd, how much love and fondness he already had for her. He barely knew her, and yet he felt so close to her for some reason. He wanted to spend all day just watching her play and sleep and damn if that thought didn’t make him sound like a creep, but he didn’t know why.

Aleeya never returned to the backseat, choosing to settle into his lap more comfortably, while leaning her entire weight onto his chest. He looked over at the boys as they all drifted off with their own conversations, everyone having moved on.

Zayn had gotten his headphones out and was lost to the real world as he was wont to do, and Niall had started up a conversation with the driver. Harry and Louis were obviously lost in one another.

And so Liam settled too, placing his arms around Aleeya to secure her from any sudden movements of the vehicle, he looked out of the window and let his thoughts wander.

***

Zayn knew how he always felt his goodbyes with the other boys were bittersweet, especially at the airport when they were finally each going to their own homes. He was homesick enough to want to be home right away surrounded by his family but knew enough that he’d miss the boys terribly once he was there.

Sure they were all oddly co-dependant on each other in some ways, but he hadn’t anticipated that Aleeya would feel the same way, parting from the boys.

Clutching an adorable plushie that Louis and Harry had bought her from duty-free she looked up with her puppy eyes at the boys standing there, exchanging goodbyes. Several hugs and back-pats later, Louis and Harry took their time to cuddle the little girl and make her laugh with silly faces before they left.

Niall bent down to give her a kiss and ruffle her hair before he shouldered his bag and was off. 

This left Liam and Zayn with Aleeya. 

Zayn hadn’t yet said his goodbye to Liam, he knew how sappy the two of them always got when it came to leaving. Usually he’d wrap himself around the boy, not caring of prying eyes around them and they’d giggle and whisper to each other any promises of calling or visiting. And when the two had had their fill, they’d part their own ways.

But today was a bit different, there was the case of Aleeya. Also the fact that Liam was acting a bit strange around him lately, which pained him extremely, even if he was confused as to the reason.

Yet, he knew he couldn’t just walk away from the other boy.

With a quirk of his lips, he reached out slowly to Liam who huffed and returned the tentative hug. It wasn’t their best hug; it was stilted and awkward and slightly stiff but before Zayn could figure out why, Liam whispered to him.

“Take care of yourself and the little one over there. I’ll Skype you soon, okay?”

So Zayn relented, “Yeah, babe, you take care too. Will miss you.”

“Miss you more.”

With that, Liam pulled back and winked adorably at him and failed at it, making Zayn laugh and shake his head.

Then Liam’s gaze shifted to Aleeya behind him, and his expression grew serious. 

Zayn bit his lip in anticipation and turned to look at the little girl who, hilariously, had the same expression on her face as Liam. It was odd at times how the two shared so many quirks without having even met before.

Or maybe Aleeya was close to Liam from the future because maybe - 

Zayn shook his head violently to rid himself of the thought. There was no way Liam could be more than anything but a friend to him, even in the future. He was definitely not interested, not to mention he’d broken up with his girlfriend a long time ago now, but never made any move towards Zayn. That was enough evidence for him.

He looked over at the two of them and saw that Liam had gone down on his knees and was talking to Aleeya. But something felt off,  _ Aleeya  _ felt off.

He frowned and went closer to the two of them and heard Liam talking.

“ - and you take care of your Baba, yeah? Don’t let him eat too much of his Mum’s food because then he always calls to complain about stomach aches at midnight - “

“Oi! Stop turning my daughter against me.” He mock-protested while Liam just stuck his tongue out at him, causing his heart to flutter with fondness. 

Liam giggled at Zayn’s expression and turned back to Aleeya, “Okay, babe?”

Suddenly, Aleeya piped up after a long moment of silence, “Okay, can you leave now?”

Zayn’s heart jolted and he let out a stern, “Aleeya, that’s rude!”

But the damage was done; he saw Liam’s face fall as a crushed expression took place. He plastered on a fake smile and aimed it at Aleeya who looked chastised but was biting her lip like she was waiting for something. 

Without looking back at them again, Liam briskly walked away, even as Zayn called on him to wait. Eventually his figure disappeared from view and Zayn whipped around to address the little girl.

He realized irritatingly that she didn’t look the least bit reprimanded and wanted to let her know how rude she was, but at the same time something about the whole exchange was off to him.

He knew his future self would never have raised his daughter to be this rude, least of all to his own best friend.

But with the other day in the supply closet - 

Zayn’s thoughts were too muddled at the moment to make any sense; but he wanted to get to the bottom of it.

Approaching Aleeya slowly, he realized she was still staring after Liam with sadness clear in her expression. 

Confused with the whole situation, he asked, “Baby why did you say that to Liam? You know that’s rude.”

Zayn kept his tone gentle, and noted as Aleeya looked up at him, squeezing her plushie tight in her arms and let out a sigh.

“You told me to.”

Baffled yet again with her one-sentence answers, he continued, “I never told you to be rude to anyone, jaan.”

The little girl shook her head vigorously, “No I meant Baba-you. From where I’m from.”

Slowly, it dawned on him as he nodded, “Okay so future-me told you this? Alright but I still wouldn’t tell you to be rude.”

Aleeya shook her head again, “Not rude. You told me to make him leave so I could tell you the truth!”

Zayn was beginning to feel like someone was playing a prank on him; either that or his life had suddenly taken on the tone of a drama.

He kept silent as Aleeya continued, “You said make him leave and tell you the truth at the airport. You kept telling me this after my fifth birthday, because you said I was finally old enough to understand. Because I’m a big girl now!” 

She finished off with an adorably proud expression, which even had him breaking out in a smile despite his confusion and curiosity.

“Okay so I’ll bite. What’s the truth?” He wanted to cut to the chase, all these secrets were making him itch.

Aleeya bit her lip and looked serious again, “He had to leave so I could tell you the truth.”

Zayn rubbed his hands over his face; this was like going round in circles. He opened his mouth to ask her to clarify but she’d already started speaking again.

She squeezed her plushie tight again, “Daddy had to leave so I could tell you the truth.”

The ground beneath him felt like it was removed, his knees went wobbly and his vision was suddenly blurry. Next thing he knew he was on his knees in front of his daughter.

“Wh- What did you just say?”

He couldn’t trust his voice at that moment, it cracked and it faltered much like his heart.

Aleeya scrunched up her face and repeated herself, “Daddy had to leave so I could tell you the truth!”

This time she almost shouted it to him, and he felt the words reverberate in his soul as he gazed into her eyes. There was not an inkling of falsehood there, and he felt himself collapse further onto the floor. 

Desperately, he clutched her shoulders, “Aleeya,  _ bacha _ , tell me. Who? Who is -? Wh-what is your Daddy's name?”

In a move that he’d later find hilarious, she just lifted up a finger and pointed towards where only minutes ago Liam had disappeared to, with a ‘duh’ expression painted on her face.

“Liam? Liam Payne? Your Daddy? How - “

Zayn was just shaking his head at her in disbelief.

But Aleeya broke the silence again, “Can you call Daddy back now that I told you? I miss him.”

She pouted at him with wide eyes and suddenly it hit him. All of her expressions and mannerisms, all of it was Liam.  _ His  _ Liam. Her father -  _ other father. _

He felt hysterical laughter bubble up in his throat as he ran his fingers over her brown hair that matched to a tee to Liam’s. Her beautiful brown eyes that were the same shade he fell in love with a year ago.

No, he couldn’t let Liam walk away from him, from  _ them.  _

Too much was on the line here.

Moving quickly, he swept Aleeya up into his arms and sprinted towards the exit through which Liam had gone only minutes ago. But he wasn’t there. There was no sign of him as Zayn looked through the thick crowd for a familiar snapback and backpack.

“Is Daddy gone?” Aleeya’s voice had him jolting up. She looked close to tears.

His breath got stuck in his throat. Daddy. She meant Liam. The ease with which she called him Baba was there still for Liam. But he needed to snap out of it right now. There was a lot he needed to think about, but at that moment his priority was getting himself and Aleeya home safely.

“No baby, Daddy’s just gone home. How about we go home as well and then we can call him, hm?”

She nodded at him with the smallest smile and it was Liam, just all Liam and his heart soared at the sight. She was Liam’s and his too. She was theirs. She was their daughter which meant -

They were together; they had a future together and Zayn just wanted to jump into the same machine that brought Aleeya here and go forward just to see it for himself.

But the proof had been right there all along. In front of them in the shape of a little girl with brown hair and brown eyes who looked nothing like him but had obviously inherited his entire heritage.

He laughed openly, pressing small kisses across her cheeks, just as his phone vibrated in his pocket. 

Aleeya, still giggling from the kisses, pulled it out for him and let him answer - it was his Baba.

Right then, it was time for them to go home and recuperate. Then Zayn was going to go and finally get himself a boyfriend. 

Of course, there was also the case of informing said future-boyfriend that he was a father as well.

Zayn snickered at the thought as he made his way to the car park, he couldn’t wait to have fun with that secret.

***

The ride home was pretty much a numbing experience for Liam. He was too cold, then too hot, and he squirmed in his seat because he felt so restless and uncomfortable.

This was the feeling that often pushed him into working out. It usually occurred after spending a whole night with Zayn. While laying beside him, listening to his soft snuffles, it overwhelmed him how much love he held in his heart. And so he’d push away and go work out. It took his mind off things and of course, it helped with the way he looked.

But right now, stuck in traffic on the way home, he felt powerless. The two hours it would take him to get there felt like the longest hours of his life.

Aleeya’s words echoed in his ears like some sort of cruel mantra. He knew something had been off when he noticed how quiet she’d been. But the way the little girl had comfortably snuggled up to him in the van was baffling and not making any sense.

Why did she dismiss him so quickly and callously if she was so open with him?

Liam huffed and shook his head, trust his insecurities to believe a little sweet girl like Aleeya could be so callous. There was probably something going on in that little head of hers but he was too confused to make any sense of it.

Defeated, he let his head fall back on the head-rest and closed his eyes to drift off. Maybe now that he was going home he could finally catch up on his sleep.

It only felt like moments later he was being shaken and Liam jolted up to see that they’d stopped and the driver was nudging him awake. 

Oh shit, he’d knocked out so hard he didn’t even notice they were parked outside his house. He rubbed his eyes sleepily and paid the fare, dragging his bag out with him as he exited the car.

He was still too sleepy to be coherent so he trudged his way to the door and knocked only once before warm arms enveloped him and a familiar scent surrounded him.

“Mum.” He smiled in her embrace and suddenly felt the weight of everything collapse down onto him. Stupidly enough, he realized he’d started crying, causing his Mum to worry and fuss over him.

How could he tell his Mum he felt that he’d lost his whole world twice in the past few days?

***

“Liam, sweetheart. You know that makes no sense.”

Liam laughed into the circle of his arms onto which he’d propped his head. His Mum had had him settled in the warmth of their kitchen, her hands around a cup of tea while he’d refused anything to eat or drink. Flying and travelling always made him nauseous, but he felt sick at the thoughts swirling around in his head too.

His father was fast asleep upstairs and he didn’t have the heart to wake him. Anyway, he didn’t feel like he was in a state to meet anyone at the moment without weeping.

Karen looked down at her only son and smiled at him. “It doesn’t make any sense but maybe - try explaining to me again.”

Liam sighed, “Not much to explain Mum it’s easy. Zayn has a daughter who arrived from the future which means he’s married or with someone else. To top it all off, she doesn’t even like me.”

“You don’t know that - “

“Aleeya made it clear, Mum. Believe me, I know.”

Karen tilted her head at him, “Aleeya? Beautiful name.”

“Yeah she’s beautiful.” Liam admitted with a smile, her sparkling eyes and loud laughter had captured his heart entirely. 

“She has these brown eyes and brown hair, and Zayn even joked she looked nothing like him, probably more like she belonged in our family.”

His Mum chuckled and brought a hand up to his hair, “Sleep now, love. You need all the rest. Your sisters will join us for breakfast tomorrow.”

Liam inhaled deeply before letting it out slowly, “Okay, Mum. Probably best if I go now.”

But just as he finally made his way to bed and slumped on top of it, his phone vibrated with an incoming message.

_ (01:18) Me and aleeya reached fine. We’re missing you aha x _

Working on autopilot and the little sleep he had, he messaged back a quick reply and went to sleep.

Miles away, Zayn showed Aleeya the message Liam had sent back and she smiled as she finally drifted off, with a quick kiss from her Baba and a goodnight message from her Daddy.

***

When he woke, Aleeya was nowhere to be found but he knew he needn't worry. He was finally home with his parents and they'd take care of her even if he wasn't there. Zayn knew his family was already smitten with the little girl.

From the moment she’d called his parents ‘Naana’ and ‘Naani’ and called Doniya and Wali their respective titles, they’d all but melted.

Hilariously, it took Safaa the longest time to warm up to her, which in her little mind was around fifteen minutes of staring before slowly approaching her with her favourite snack. Aleeya had responded so positively that the two little girls had been inseparable since.

Zayn had arrived home just in time for dinner, and had noticed how the entire family was gathered in the living room because they knew Aleeya was coming. Frankly, he was terrified for the little girl. What if his family hadn’t reacted so well? But it all turned out to be fine.

He could hear shrieks of laughter echoing up from downstairs and that was motivation enough to push himself out of bed. 

For the first time in so many weeks, he got out of his bed with purpose driving his limbs. He needed to get to Liam quick, and explain everything. 

Zayn didn't know whether their future selves had recently gotten together or had been together a while but he didn't want to waste another moment of his life if it wasn't by Liam's side. 

Entering the kitchen downstairs, the sight that greeted him had him laughing loudly. Aleeya had managed to climb onto her Naana's back who was joyfully giving her a piggy-back ride around while his Mum tried to feed her small bites of eggs. 

Doniya sat laughing and cheering on her niece and father while Wali was engrossed on her phone. Safaa too was bouncing around trying to catch onto Aleeya. 

"Morning, guys!" He called out as he moved to the counter where hopefully there was enough coffee for him. 

"Baba!" Aleeya called to him while laughing and hanging off Yaser's shoulders. 

That one word, though, had everyone pausing for a good second. It was so suddenly quiet that it had Zayn looking up from his beloved mug full of coffee at everyone. 

They didn’t look shell-shocked but all of their expressions suggested they were thrown off by it. Probably because in their eyes, he was only just a kid, not actually a Baba yet.

Meanwhile, Aleeya had climbed down and made her way over to him, where he picked her up with ease as she settled into his embrace. He swayed back and forth with her, pressing kisses to her head until - 

"She really is yours huh?" It was Doniya with a quizzical expression on her face, mirrored by everyone else in the kitchen, except for Safaa who started jumping again. 

"Yay I've got a niece! I'm gonna tell  _ all  _ of my friends-"

Zayn laughed, "No don't tell them, no one's supposed to know. It's a secret alright?"

Trisha approached him slowly and with a gentle smile, she inquired, "How about we have that conversation now?"

He nodded reluctantly; it wasn't as if he was scared of letting his family know the truth. It was just that he was wary of their reactions. Aleeya's presence was enough evidence but there was always a chance they wouldn't believe him about Liam. 

Zayn blushed at the thought of finally admitting his feelings out loud to his parents. 

Or worse having to admit that they had a child together.

"Uh yeah, sure. Wali watch the girls yeah?"

Walihya groaned and stomped out of the kitchen as the two little girls ran off to Safaa's bedroom, probably making a mess of the toys and art supplies kept there. 

Eventually his parents, Doniya and him settled at the kitchen table as he stiltedly explained - or tried to explain - everything in detail once again. 

Last night when he'd arrived, he and Aleeya had barely any energy left to meet with anyone and he'd taken her straight to his old bedroom and collapsed on the bed. 

His Baba was the first one to speak after a long silence, "Are you going to tell Liam?"

Zayn nodded slowly but then stopped. "I want to let him know but I'm not sure if he'll take it well."

Trisha touched his elbow gently, "Why not?"

He shrugged, not knowing how to answer. 

Doniya sighed from across the table and reached over to clasp his hand. "Zayn I know how gone you're for him. I can see that clearly. But I never took you for a stupid person."

He frowned up at her as Trisha threw her a disapproving look. 

"What? I'm right I know I am! He loves you Zayn. Anyone with eyes can see that."

Surprisingly Yaser spoke then, "I think she's right, Zayn.”

Zayn looked up skeptically but his father corrected himself with a laugh, “Not that you’re stupid. I think you should tell him."

He looked over at his Mum who smiled reassuringly, "What does Aleeya want from this, did you ask her?"

He sighed, "As far as I know. She always gets really sad once Liam's gone or not there. And I can't believe none of us understood her because she'd called Liam Daddy twice before."

He shook his head and laughed ruefully, "None of us got it."

Trisha ruffled his hair, "Call him, Zayn. Go see him."

Zayn closed his eyes in relief, he'd been waiting to do just that. 

***

Liam didn't know whether he was being melodramatic but he was pretty sure the cereal in his mouth tasted like ash. Nothing appealed to him at the moment and he knew exactly why.

He didn't think it'd come to this. But it did. And now that he was here in a moment where he doesn't feel any peace, he doesn't know what to do. 

He hadn't heard a peep from the other boys which wasn't new or shocking since they all would usually take a few days before caving and calling each other. 

But Liam's heart was mostly stuck on Zayn's message last night. Why had he messaged him last night? It only reminded Liam of what he'd lost, or rather lost what was never his.

Zayn was never his, and Aleeya was proof of that.

Anyway why was he even thinking about this? It was futile, absolutely useless. 

While he was mentally berating himself, he hadn't realized his Dad had entered the kitchen. 

"Were you planning on telling me that you were home?"

Liam startled up in his seat and saw his Dad's smiling face and practically ran up to him to hug him. 

They shared a laugh as he squeezed his arms affectionately around his father, and parted as Liam returned to his ash cereal and his father joined him with a cup of tea. 

After a couple moments of silence, Liam realized his father knew nothing of the truth, not yet at least -

"Your Mum told me something happened recently?"

He froze, spoon halfway to his mouth, milk and soggy cereal dripping off it pathetically. 

_ Oh, Mum. _

Geoff sighed, "When were you going to tell us Liam?"

Liam gulped, his mouth suddenly dry, "Tell you what?"

Geoff eyed him shrewdly, "That you were in love with Zayn."

He flushed right down to his toes with - he didn't know what. It was probably embarrassment, but definitely not shame. He felt many things but shame at his love for Zayn wasn't one of them. 

He nodded silently at his bowl as he returned the spoon back to it, without taking a bite. Tasted like shit anyway.

In front of him, Geoff sighed again. 

"Liam, talk to me. Did you think we wouldn't support you? I know you've told us you like both boys and -"

"It's not that, Dad." He interrupted quickly not wanting a rehash of his coming out speech thrown at him right now. There was enough embarrassment in the moment as it is. 

"I just- it's obvious now. It's obvious that we - me and him I mean - we don't have a future. We never did. I was just fooling myself thinking there was something there."

Liam clamped his mouth shut when he heard his voice crack under the emotion. God he was an emotional mess. 

Geoff narrowed his eyes at him, “Are you sure this girl is legitimate? I mean she could be lying because it sounds absolutely absurd.”

Liam rubbed his mouth in thought. “She seems  _ very  _ legit, Dad. She knows things about us no one in the world but our families know, and the way she’s familiar with us, with Zayn mostly is proof enough for me.”

“Anyway, Zayn’s accepted it and he’s her Dad so I mean - “ He shrugged and trailed off in thought.

Gentle fingers ran through his hair. Karen stood behind him, a strong and comforting presence. 

That was it, that was all he needed now - his parents who he knew would always stand by him. They’d seen him through his worst moments as well as his best. The only two people who knew him better than he did himself.

"Well now -" Geoff had started speaking but was interrupted by Liam's phone going off.

Liam threw his Dad an apologetic glance which he dismissed with a wave of his hand. 

He looked down at the screen of his phone and his heart jumped up in his throat - it was Zayn. 

At first, Liam was confused. Why was Zayn calling this early? They'd only just said their goodbyes yesterday. And besides wasn't he with his  _ fiancée  _ right now and their child. 

Despite himself, an image of Aleeya curled up on the lap of a blonde popped up in his head and something burned fiercely in his chest -

But why? 

Karen nudged him, "Pick it up, sweetheart. Talk to him."

With shaky hands, he answered the phone as his parents moved away to give him some privacy. 

Liam cleared his throat, "Um hey."

"Liam, hey! How are you d - Aleeya stop moving. No I - you cannot talk to him I'm talking to - oi! Stop it."

He snickered at the ensuing sounds of two people wrestling for the phone. 

"Ha ha I won!" Aleeya's voice crowed next but there was more shuffling until -

"The evil is defeated!" Zayn's voice came next with Aleeya whining in the background. 

Liam was giggling by now, loving just the sound of his two favourite people, and all his sorrows forgotten. 

“Love hearing you laugh.” It was a statement that came from the voice on the other end, and Liam sputtered at the flirtatious tone in Zayn’s voice, but the boy only snickered in return.

He huffed self-consciously, wanting to hide his face even though it was a phone call. But Zayn had already moved on to talking.

"Right so I was saying - can we come see you?"

Zayn's question had everything inside of him halting in place. Come see him? We?

"Uh -"

"I mean if you don't have any guests over or plans or something-"

"Uh no no, no plans or anything like that."

Across the kitchen, he spotted his Mum nodding furiously and gesturing with her hand. 

Well, then. 

"Yeah sure you can visit." Liam tried his best to sound inviting and not at all like he was arranging his court hearing. 

Zayn chuckled, his voice low and deep against Liam’s ear, and that didn’t help his attraction to the boy any.

“You don’t sound so sure.”

“No no! Really, come along and bring Aleeya too. Mum would love to meet you guys.”

He quirked an eyebrow at Karen who smiled wide and winked back.  _ Really _ , Mum.

"Great! Me and Aleeya will be there by tomorrow. See ya Leeyum."

Liam said his goodbyes and then promptly slumped onto a chair nearby. He put his head in his hands as Karen approached him. 

"Oh sweetheart, don't you worry. It's all going to resolve itself."

And didn't Liam want  _ just  _ that. 

***

Zayn knew it was a long ride to Liam’s house so he planned to stay at least two days before they went back home. That is, of course, if everything turned out alright. 

There was still a strong chance Liam would outright laugh and reject everything Zayn says to him and kick them out. Maybe he’d keep Aleeya because he was fond of her.

But Zayn knew himself - he’d hightail it out of there at the first inkling of Liam not being amused by what he tells him.

They may fight, they may exchange hurtful words, but Zayn hoped his biggest fear would never come true.

Losing Liam.

Convincing himself to get out of bed early morning to get himself dressed for the trip was the hardest part.

As soon as he’d opened his eyes in the morning, all sorts of intrusive, negative thoughts had charged into his mind. Aleeya was as usual not beside him but he could faintly hear her in the next room.

Blindly groping his side-table for his phone, he clutched it in his hand and opened the gallery. There was a plethora of pictures and selfies all taken with Liam. Only a tiny amount would get posted online and the majority was just for him to keep.

Not to be creepy about them or anything, just that Zayn loved to look at Liam.

Like that’s not creepy at all, a voice that sounded much like Louis’ echoed in his mind.

He blew out a breath and heaved himself out of bed. Today would decide it all for him. It would decide his future for him. Whether Liam chooses to stay in the present with him or not was completely out of his hand. He scarcely prayed nowadays but something inside him compelled him to close his eyes and say a secret prayer.

***  
  


Apparently, in all the time that Aleeya was missing, his sisters were playing dress-up or get-up or whatever that’s called with her. She emerged from Safaa’s room looking absolutely adorable and beautiful. 

Whatever the outcome of the day he’d always thank Liam for being so gorgeous himself that their daughter looked the way she did.

Clearly, Doniya and Wali had done her hair and given her Safaa’s clothes to wear. She beamed up at him with a wide grin and cheek dimples.

Zayn could barely help himself from peppering her sweet, little face with kisses. 

“Dressed to impress, babe?” Aleeya grinned at him and nodded.

Doniya piped up, “Well she’s dressed to impress Daddy and I know she’ll win his heart. Now you I’m not so sure about.”

The girls all giggled with each other as Zayn frowned down at his clothes intensely.

“What’s wrong with this?”

Doniya put her hands on her hips, “Zayn you’re wearing a leather jacket over some sweats and a snapback.”

“Yeah and?”

His sister slapped her forehead, “Ya Allah, you’re going to give Liam some really big news. Maybe you should dress a little better?”

There was a beat then - 

“Yeah, no you have no idea how guys work. But also this is not a date. I’m about to Jerry Springer his life, you think what I’m wearing is going to make a difference?”

Wali snorted as Zayn smiled smugly at Doniya, who rolled her eyes, and descended with Aleeya following behind him.

There was a private taxi waiting outside for them, so without wasting any time Zayn said his goodbyes to everyone and ushered Aleeya into the taxi.

The ride was a long one, so he’d brought along some snacks, in case Aleeya got hungry on the way. But he didn’t have much in the way of entertainment for her and eventually counting all the passing trees and houses got boring for the little girl.

Once she started whining, Zayn quickly handed over his phone to her, loaded with new games just so he could have some time to himself to think about what he was going to say.

Sure, he could just walk up to Liam and spill the truth but he wanted to handle the whole situation with tact.

He snorted softly; tact was rarely his thing but in this situation everything was too fragile to be handled in any other way.

As the trees morphed into houses and into buildings, he let his mind wander.

There wasn’t just one truth he needed to come clean about. There were several truths. And the first one was admitting to Liam how he’d signed a contract without all of their knowledge.

Zayn swallowed against the lump that suddenly had found its way into his throat. Forget auditions or dancing, this was definitely the scariest thing he’s ever done in his entire life.

***

Liam paced back and forth on the porch of his parents’ house; they were supposed to be here already according to the time Zayn had given him.

It was well ten minutes past it; but he knew how horrible with time the other boy was. And who knows maybe they stopped on the way because of Aleeya.

Maybe he should call. But he didn’t want to be clingy or anticipatory. He wanted to keep his cool and not lose it just as soon as they arrived and - 

A honk startled him out of his thoughts. It was a private taxi and Liam could spot Aleeya’s wide grin in one of the back windows.

He smiled and waved back as he made his way towards the car, observing Zayn as he got out. There was already an unlit cigarette tucked in between his lips which was being lit up just as soon as he was out.

Zayn raised an arm in greeting and Liam smiled in return. Watching his friend take a few drags as he paid the fare, he finally turned to Aleeya who had stepped out in front of him.

“How do I look?” She spread her arms and twirled around in the dress she wore, and Liam appropriately gasped in awe.

“You look wonderful, that’s why I didn’t recognize you! I thought you were a Disney princess.”

Zayn’s signature smile appeared on her face as she giggled at Liam.

Liam was so fond of her he could barely hold back from ducking down to press a kiss to her head.

“Liam, hey.” 

He looked up to see Zayn approaching them, clad in casual clothes and a leather jacket, he still smelled of the cigarette he’d just finished.

Aleeya scrunched up her nose at him and walked towards the house without looking back.

Zayn wheezed out a laugh, “She doesn’t like it when I smoke. But I was feeling a bit nervous so I mean I had to.” He finished off with an awkward shrug like he was feeling self-conscious.

Liam frowned at him and took a step closer. “I didn’t ask you this over the phone but, you being here for a visit and feeling nervous? Is everything okay babe?”

Hazel eyes looked up at him with anticipation in them, “I hope everything will be okay now.”

Still feeling confused, he felt himself distracted when Zayn stepped closer to him. His scent surrounded him and he felt intoxicated. It had only been two days since they last saw each other but Liam just wanted to dig his nose right back into his friend’s neck and -

Whoa, Liam. 

Liam blinked furiously, taking his gaze away from Zayn’s lips. What had he been doing? Was he mad, just staring so inappropriately at his friend like that?

Well maybe it was Zayn’s fault for being so good-looking.

A finger tapped his cheek gently. 

Zayn grinned at him, “You doing okay babe?”

The endearment had him blushing and shrugging as Zayn laughed and dragged him back to the house where Aleeya stood waiting for them.

“Where are they?” She called out to Liam who held his hands up in question.

“Gran-”

Zayn choked on his own saliva and shot Aleeya a panicked look and hand gestures that hopefully indicated he wanted her to shut up right at that moment.

“Who?” Liam frowned at Aleeya.

“Gr - uh - the uh- gremlins.”

Zayn slapped his forehead as Aleeya pouted intensely at him. This was a shit-show.

“The gremlins? Why would - okay I’m confused.” Liam finished off with an awkward laugh and finally turned to Zayn for an explanation.

Apparently he was shit at explaining too, “She - uh - I think she meant the gremlins in my phone!”

“Yeah I played a game about gremlins.” Aleeya piped up.

“Ah okay.” Liam nodded in understanding, though Zayn could still see a flicker of worry in his eyes as he looked from daughter to father.

Zayn plastered on a convincing smile that was perhaps a little too wide.

“Right let’s go inside, I wanna meet your Mum!”

***

Inside, they all met up. Geoff was off to visit a few friends so it was only Karen at home but her warm hugs were welcomee enough for Zayn. 

Aleeya was greeted with such fuss and wonder and love, he was surprised the little girl hadn’t combusted with the attention. She loved it, of course.

In all the hurry to see Liam, he’d completely forgotten to ask Aleeya about her other grandparents.

But from what he could gather she probably did know them. Aleeya had very quickly warmed up to Karen; now it was his only wish that she’d refrain from calling her ‘Grandma’ or something until him and Liam talked things out.

Zayn observed how Aleeya was engrossed in looking at all the little plants and herbs Karen had growing in a corner of the kitchen so he took the chance to discreetly tug at Liam’s shirt from behind.

Liam turned to him questioningly, so Zayn whispered, “Can we talk?”

Brown eyes widened at him and he saw a flash of panic in them. Zayn smiled reassuringly.

“Just wanna let you know a few things, that’s all.”

The other boy nodded slowly and turned away from the kitchen as they walked towards the living room. They settled onto a sofa in the corner, which Zayn hoped was far away enough from prying ears, not that he didn’t expect Liam to shout or scream.

Nerves suddenly gripped him and he felt his gut clench dangerously.

“Um.”

There was a long minute of silence between them, broken only by Liam.

“Zayn?”

“Yeah, yeah I uh - listen the thing is - there’s something you all don’t know.”

“All?” Liam raised his eyebrows in disbelief.

Oh boy.

“Yeah, all. As in all of you boys. And frankly I’m scared to finally let you know because I know how disappointed and mad everyone, especially you are going to be.”

Liam’s forehead creased in concern. “You’re scaring me now, Zayn. Just tell me.”

Zayn blew out a breath, “Okay so. In the first year after we signed I was approached by management to sign another contract.”

Liam’s face went blank, “Another contract? Are you leaving - “

Zayn quickly held his hands up, “No no. Not leaving. It was about something else. Okay so honestly it was about dating someone from another band under the same people. And I signed it.”

His throat clicked as he finally admitted the truth. He glanced up at Liam who looked like the cogs of his brain were turning and working when eventually - 

“I thought you two were genuinely dating.”

Zayn bit his lip and nodded, “Yeah that’s what they wanted everyone to believe so it was more, uh - believable.”

Liam suddenly sprung to his feet, “And the engagement? The ring? Zayn there was a whole story about how you proposed so - “

“Oh.” He went still.

Zayn stood up, behind him confused, “Oh what?”

Without turning around, Liam whispered, “You fell in love with her then? Is that it? Well then, Zayn my congratulations to you but this isn’t exactly new - “

“No Liam dammit! I didn’t fall in love with her. There’s no engagement, it’s all a lie, it was made up and I was never anyone’s fiancé, hell even the ring is fake.” He let out a bitter laugh. Now that he was admitting everything out loud he couldn’t help but feel pathetic. Like his whole life was a lie.

Zayn clenched his jaw as Liam turned around slowly. His heart sank when he noticed tears in Liam’s eyes. He’d really made a mess of it now. He’d hurt Liam so much with his lies that now - 

“I’m sorry for lying to you Liam. I never wanted to but they made me.” Zayn didn’t know why but he kept shaking his head at Liam, not noticing the tears in his own eyes.

Liam pursed his lips and looked down at his feet. “Zayn you lied to us which is not okay.”

Zayn nodded vigorously but the other boy continued, “But please. No more lies. Especially not within the band.”

No more lies, he said. Well then.

Zayn’s lips trembled, “Then you need to know more.”

Liam’s head snapped up to look him in the eyes, his expression incredulous. “There’s more?”

He shrugged awkwardly in return, “Kind of.”

“Okay fine, shoot.” 

Zayn rubbed his clammy hands on the material of his sweatpants and continued.

“I found out something about Aleeya right after you left us at the airport. You know how she snapped at you, right? Don’t blame her for it, apparently future-me advised her to make you leave so she could tell me the truth.”

“What truth?” Liam’s whisper sounded behind him.

“Aleeya’s other parent is not some girlfriend or fiancée of mine from now.”

He needed to face Liam for this.

Zayn turned around and walked over to where Liam sat propped on the arm of a sofa. With a careful finger, he traced Liam’s left eyebrow, smiling fondly at the surprised expression on his face.

“Zayn what?”

Reaching down, he clasped Liam’s hands in his own and held them to his chest, before directly looking into those brown eyes.

“Aleeya has a Baba  _ and  _ a Daddy.” He paused for effect as he saw Liam’s eyes grow wider in understanding.

Smiling softly, he finally let him know, “Liam, Aleeya has a Baba and a Daddy. She has me  _ and you. _ ”

***

Liam’s mouth fell open. Instead of smiling the way Zayn wanted him to, he started shaking his head as his eyes filled with tears again.

The sight broke him. 

“I said no more lies, Zayn! God, do you think everything’s a joke? Life’s not a prank you keep playing - “

“Liam, I’m not lying!” But Liam had shoved his hands away from Zayn’s chest, putting a few feet of distance in between them.

“I bet this was Louis’ plan, wasn’t it? You two are always up to something and God I should’ve known.” Large hands plucked through his hair as Liam paced around. 

Zayn could only stand in shock and observe as bitter remark after bitter remark was thrown his way. Maybe he did deserve it.

Not knowing what to do, he took every scathing comment without a noise. He let Liam lose himself in his words, not bothering to stop him as he folded his arms and just observed him.

After a while, he took note of the way Liam tended to pout his words around cherry-red lips, his cheeks would flush delicately whenever he was angry and his hair would bounce around adorably as he walked back and forth.

But when Liam stopped in front of him with a furious look on his face, Zayn realized he was stood there smiling like a fool in front of him.

“What are you smiling at? Are you still not sorry?”

Zayn shrugged and smiled again shamelessly, “You’re gorgeous when you’re angry.”

“Zayn honestly explain yourself - “

But he only held up one finger to silence Liam.

***

Liam was beyond angry - he was furious for the first time in his life with Zayn. Usually being around Zayn was frustrating but the boy always had a calm demeanour around him that he knew he could settle down in comfortably. But right now he was only getting on his nerves.

The audacity and arrogance in his so-called  _ prank  _ was infuriating him.

Why did Louis and Zayn think this was funny? Maybe they figured out how stupidly gone he was for Zayn and decided to use Aleeya in their game too. It was despicable the way they’d -

Zayn cleared his throat pointedly. Liam gave him a death stare in return.

Leaning back, Zayn called towards the kitchen, “Aleeya?”

Her light voice answered, “Yes, Baba?”

With a smirk aimed his way, he continued, “Daddy wants to see your dress again!”

He heard her gasp from the kitchen and also heard his Mum’s incredulous ‘Daddy?’ before the little girl came charging through the door, full speed at - 

Liam.

She was running right at Liam and was probably going to hurt herself if he didn’t catch her. Automatically, his arms opened to make space for her and she barreled right into him, wrapping herself tightly around him.

Liam could only stand stock still, gazing over at Zayn who was smiling and nodding at him, but what?

He shook his head confusedly, “I don’t understand.”

At that moment, Aleeya pulled back from the hug and still in his arms started talking. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his Mum enter as well.

“I missed you Daddy! Baba said we’d have to wait a few days to see you but I wanted to bring you back the second you left the airport but we tried looking for you and you weren’t there. Then we went home and I met everyone in Baba’s family and they all look the same but maybe a little smaller and anyway I played with so many toys over there then we took a car to come over here and then Gran showed me the plants - “

Karen gasped loudly in the background.

Liam looked back at Zayn who was looking at him hopefully, “She’s - she’s ours?”

Zayn laughed and nodded, wiping his own tears and - 

All Liam could do at that moment was open his right arm wide and fit Zayn into his embrace.

He needed both of them in his arms right now, because if he really was Aleeya’s  _ other father,  _ then he needed Zayn to complete their little family.

“Oh my God, I can’t believe it - “

With his face buried into Liam’s neck, Zayn giggled, “Believe it, babe, it’s the truth.”

He pulled back and looked up at Liam with wide eyes, “No more lies.”

“No more lies,” Liam agreed, and bent down to - 

“Eww no kissing!” Liam squawked in protest as little hands pushed his and Zayn’s faces apart.

Aleeya giggled shamelessly and squirmed down from Liam’s arms and ran away, probably to Karen who stood teary-eyed with shock in the corner.

Zayn sighed, “I should spank her for ruining that moment.”

Liam snickered, “No you won’t.”

Zayn rolled his eyes and agreed, “No I won’t.” He smiled as Liam giggled at him.

The two stood there staring at each other, smiles stuck on their faces. Behind them, they heard Aleeya drag Karen off, probably to go look at the birds they kept in their backyard. That meant the house was momentarily empty and - 

Liam boldly reached over to grasp Zayn’s waist in his arms. The other boy smiled widely at the move, clearly appreciative of it.

“Well then, where’s my kiss?”

“Coming right up.”

Liam had had his share of enough sorrow and tears and sadness over the past week. So maybe the universe was finally giving him his share of happiness.

He was painfully and torturously in love with someone he thought would never return his affections. And yet, here he stood in his parents’ living room, Liam Payne with the love of his life in his arms. Smiling all the way, he finally reached across and closed the distance between them as their lips pressed together, half-smiling through their first kiss.

As their lips met for the second, third time, it felt like he’d finally taken a long deep breath for the first time since he fell in love.

***

The resulting day for Liam was one of the most chaotic ones of his life. And he wasn’t exaggerating one bit.

His Mum was constantly crying and doting on Aleeya who lapped all of the affection up as she dug into her third bowl of ice cream of the day.

He could barely separate himself from Zayn, constantly pressing kisses onto his cheeks, lips, neck, wherever he could reach, making him giggle softly. They were sat on the sofa in the living room facing the kitchen in front of them.

Zayn was practically in his lap as he was half-slumped against Liam’s chest, his own hands playing with the messy tousle of his hair. His  _ boyfriend’s  _ hair. With whom he had a future, a  _ daughter _ .

Liam expected to wake up any second now from his dream, a wonderful, beautiful dream. Over at the kitchen table, Aleeya spotted the two of them and made a run for it. Mouth hilariously covered in white cream, she jumped not-so-gently onto Liam who let out a loud ‘oof’.

Living up to her nickname of ‘cuddle-bug’ she quickly folded herself into his arms on the left of him, while Zayn, he was amused to note, was slowly drifting off.

Liam continued his ministrations on Zayn’s hair and revelled in the soft breaths Aleeya took beside him.

And soon the two of them were fast asleep.

Maybe sleep was a passable gene in the Malik’s side of family.

He grinned down at them until he felt a presence at the door. 

Liam looked up to see his Mum staring at them unsurprisingly with tears in her eyes, and surprisingly his Dad was stood there too. He didn’t hear him arrive, but maybe that was because he was so absorbed in his own little family.

_ Family _ . Completely, utterly ridiculous. And he wouldn’t trade one bit of it.

Liam looked at his father, who held up a thumbs up, making him laugh. 

His parents slowly edged into the room, wary of waking the two up. Liam smiled up at them. 

“I’ve got a family now.” Barely keeping his eyes from getting wet, he was finally able to say that sentence out now. He had a family, he was a  _ family  _ man. 

And yeah, maybe one day Aleeya would go back to her real family but it would always be him and Zayn there for her. No matter what face they sported, however old, Aleeya would always be theirs. His daughter, his own child. 

As Zayn had pointed out to him only minutes after his admission, she looked exactly like Liam. Her hair and her eyes and her dimples on her cheeks all resembled his own. 

And to think that Liam had foolishly thought all those features belonged to a certain blonde.

No fiancée. No girlfriend. That was  _ his  _ boyfriend now.

In front of him, Geoff leaned over to whisper, “I should ground you for having a daughter at your age.”

Liam snickered but then held still as Aleeya squirmed in his arms but eventually settled with her face hidden in his neck. Exactly like her Baba, he noted with fondness, who was snoring away now.

“You want something to eat now, love?” His Mum asked him.

Liam only smiled and shook his head, “Nah I’m fine. I’ll have something when they wake.”

Eventually, Karen and Geoff left to have their dinner in the kitchen while Liam sat in complete silence and comfort. He squeezed both his arms gently before dropping a kiss on each head and settled down against the soft cushions for a nap himself.

It’d been an adventurous day, after all.

***

The next day started off slow; Liam was the first one up, silencing the alarm on his phone, rubbing the sleep away from his eyes groggily. He did promise himself he was going to run every morning to keep up with their chaotic routines.

Turning slightly, he looked over their bed arrangements. It was very obvious very quick last night that the three of them would never fit onto Liam’s childhood bed. He’d never bothered to upgrade his room in his parents’ house since he barely spent time there. His London flat was more than enough for him and a couple friends to stay over.

But right now he needed to be around his family, and around his own little family as well. There was no way he was going to bed last night without each arm around the loves of his life. Liam knew his mind would be too caught up in diminishing the wonderful events of yesterday as soon as he woke up, and frankly he was done with heartbreaks.

So both him and Zayn had dragged a couple mattresses from storage and laid them down side by side in the empty space by the living room. Aleeya had tried to help but was more occupied with jumping and bouncing on the mattresses, eventually causing Zayn to scold her off it.

Aleeya shifted in her sleep, both arms thrown up above her head on the pillow, eyes shut tight. Liam smiled fondly at her; she slept  _ just  _ like her Baba.

Speaking of whom, Liam turned to his right where Zayn was sleeping just about in the same position as their daughter. Muffling a noise of amusement, he leant down and placed a feather-light kiss on his forehead then turned around to give the same treatment to Aleeya.

Running down his usual path through the sleeping city of Wolverhampton was peaceful. Barely anyone was awake, shops were still shuttered closed, the air was crisp and clean with the morning sun warming it just enough.

Liam stopped around a corner and took a deep breath in. He checked the time and figured he should head back soon. Truth be told, he could barely keep himself away from Zayn and Aleeya right now. He just wanted to go home and shake them awake and drag them out for a whole day.

He wanted to stroll through the city hand in hand with his family; one hand would hold onto Zayn, his boyfriend, the love of his life since he met him, and the other onto their whole future, their daughter, Aleeya.

What more could a man ask for?

Shaking his head and smiling to himself, he rushed back to his parents’ house hoping the two were already up.

As it turned out, everyone was up except for Zayn, which was typical.

He’d spotted no cars out but as soon as he entered and heard Ruth and Nicola bickering over something while Karen admonished them, he ran into the kitchen.

Karen was seated with Aleeya at the kitchen table while Ruth was in-charge at the stove but was being bullied and persistently shoved by Nicola who was trying to give her cooking directions.

Liam snickered at the sight they made, the sound causing both sisters to whip around to look at him.

A shout of ‘Liam’ and both his sisters were barreling towards him at an awful speed and tackling him into a hug. He laughed heartily through their good-natured teasing and affectionate pecks on his cheek.

“Alright, enough you two. Roo, do I smell something burning?”

Liam’s question had his eldest sister gasping and running back to the stove, desperately trying to salvage whatever breakfast she was attempting to make.

Nicola burst into hysterical laughter and the sound reverberated through the whole kitchen, making Karen roll her eyes at her children.

Liam looked to Karen and murmured a ‘good morning’ to her, going over to press a quick kiss to her cheek. Beside her, Aleeya was staring at him solemnly.

He frowned, “Hey baby, what’s wrong?”

To his horror, her eyes filled with tears and her lower lip wobbled. Without a word, she raised her arms to Liam who quickly swept her up into a tight hug.

He was still sweaty and hot from the jog but it didn’t seem to affect Aleeya at all, who wrapped her legs tightly around his waist, as if he would threaten to put her down.

Liam didn’t hear her cry or sob but she held onto him wordlessly.

There were a billion questions swirling around in his head, all of them wanting to spill out just to know what made her that way.

Karen smiled sympathetically at him, “I think she just woke up to see you gone. She must’ve been scared.”

“I just went for a jog, love.” He reassured Aleeya, who was still quiet but wrapped up in his embrace.

His Mum touched his hand, “Sit down with her, she just needs you.”

So Liam sat there, a worried expression on his face, as he pet Aleeya’s hair and kissed whatever part of her he could reach without untangling her from him.

Ruth and Nicola had been watching the scene unfold the entire time; both sisters were beyond emotional to see their baby brother so grown up, handling his own daughter with such a level of ease and love.

Liam looked up to see his sisters smiling through their tears and threw them a questioning look.

Ruth answered his unspoken question, “Mum told us just about everything once we arrived. Not gonna lie, it sounded ridiculous and I thought I was dreaming. And then little Leeya here woke up and we had a little talk.”

Liam swallowed against the lump of emotions in his throat.

Nicola smirked, “Did you know she said you’re her hero?”

Liam huffed out loud but secretly he felt his heart expand and his love for the little girl in his arms increase infinitely. 

Ruth continued to relfect on the situation, “It’s mad, you know. I never believed in those timey-wimey things. You see it on the telly on Doctor Who, for God’s sake, but not in real life!”

He frowned, “You don’t believe us?”

His sister threw him a sheepish smile, “It’s not that, Liam. It’s just difficult to digest, I guess?”

Liam chuckled, “You’re telling me, I just found out yesterday, I still haven’t come to terms with it.”

The mood shifted once Ruth announced breakfast was ready and the kitchen was soon busy with everyone setting the table and getting the coffee or tea made.

Liam remained seated with Aleeya, taking comfort in the slow and steady breaths Aleeya took. She didn’t seem emotional anymore but was probably still shaken, so he didn’t try to remove her.

Slow footsteps echoed in the hall behind him and soon he felt a head land on his other shoulder with soft, inky black hair rubbing against his cheek.

He smiled beatifically at the feeling; Aleeya nestled into his left shoulder and Zayn wrapped his arms around the both of them as he rested his head on Liam’s other shoulder sleepily.

Liam finally had his whole world wrapped around him, and he could peacefully die in that moment.

An echo of coos were heard from the women of the Payne family, making Liam laugh loudly and jostling Zayn who was embarrassed to see Liam’s sisters there.

Awkward hello’s were exchanged and his father finally joined them for breakfast. His parents’ small kitchen table was being utilized to the max, but Liam loved the feeling of it. 

A house that echoed with the numerous noises and sounds of all family members sitting down for a meal altogether. There could be arguments, heated discussions, or even small talk, but it was all so comfortable and loving.

Liam smiled at his boyfriend and wondered whether after this he could visit with the Maliks as well. It would be only a tad bit embarrassing meeting them as Zayn’s boyfriend as well as the other parent to their grandchild. He chuckled internally as he imagined the look on their faces.

“A bit more, jaan, just a little bit - “

Zayn sat on his right side and was feeding small bites of eggs to Aleeya who was still perched in her Daddy’s lap and refused to be let down. He paired every bite with little words of encouragement which the little girl grudgingly accepted.

Liam kept one hand around her and the other on his fork, reaching over now and then for a napkin to wipe Aleeya’s mouth.

Unbeknownst to the little family, the rest of the occupants on the table were smirking to themselves and sharing looks with each other. They never imagined to see such a sight, so soon in their lives.

“I’m done.” Aleeya whined, making Zayn frown.

“You’ve only had a few bites, jaan, that’s not enough.”

But Aleeya continued to whine, eventually burying her face into Liam’s neck.

Zayn chuckled, “Oi, now you’re just getting eggs all over Daddy.”

Liam made a face at that, making everyone at the table laugh.

Aleeya peeked up at her Baba with a small smile on her face. Zayn leaned in to make eye contact with her.

Pleading, he tried again, but this time a little differently.

_ “Thora khaalo, jaan.”  _

To everyone but Zayn’s surprise, Aleeya shook her head again, “ _ Aur nai chahiye. _ ” 

Wide eyes stared at each other around the table, and Liam realized this was the first time he’d heard Aleeya use her other language.

A sense of pride arose in him; this meant Zayn had passed his own language and culture onto their daughter and he smiled at his boyfriend in response.

Defeated but smiling, Zayn relented, “ _ Theek hai _ , fine. But you eat lunch properly, okay?”

Appeased with her small nod, he finally turned back to his own breakfast.

Just then, Liam had an idea.

He turned to Zayn, “Hey babe, how about the three of us go out for some shopping or something?”

Zayn scrunched up his nose, “What like to the market?”

He shrugged, “Or to the mall, wherever is fine.”

Liam saw him contemplate it for a few seconds, “I just don’t want anyone to photograph us together right now. I mean not when we haven’t even told the boys - “

He felt disappointed but knew they had to be responsible here. This could affect the rest of the boys just as it could affect them if pictures of Aleeya traveling around with them ever got out.

Zayn smiled at both him and Aleeya, “Alright how about a park instead? Little Miss here can have some fun too, eh?”

Aleeya’s face lit up brightly and the two of them laughed as she practically vibrated with excitement.

Smiling, the two of them made plans to visit the local park, so Aleeya could finally get to play and not be cooped up for as long as she had.

***

Liam never thought the day would come so quickly, when he’d go to the same park he’d visited as a child with his  _ own  _ child. He pushed Aleeya on the swing again, smiling sunnily at Zayn who was taking every opportunity to take pictures of them.

He laughed as Aleeya unknowingly kicked Zayn in the stomach, causing him to double over with a loud ‘oof’.

“Oops, sorry Baba!”

“It’s okay, baby.” Zayn wheezed through the pain, glaring silently at Liam who was giggling at him.

Suddenly, Aleeya gasped and stopped swinging, pointing over to a large play structure, shaped and designed like a ship.

“I want to go there!”

Liam eyed the structure and area worryingly and started, “I don’t know baby - “

Aleeya quickly began pleading with made-up expressions and clasped hands which had Zayn laughing and nudging him.

“Let her go, babe. There’s other kids there too.”

Liam nodded stiltedly, not that comfortable with the idea. But he knew he couldn’t hold her back from having the fun he refused himself to have as a child.

Zayn took his time to address the rules established for Aleeya.

“ - and stay near us, okay jaan?  _ Don’t  _ talk to strangers!”

“Okay Baba.” With that, she sprinted off to the large monstrosity while Zayn took Liam’s hand and led him over to a nearby bench.

Zayn dropped down on it and Liam joined him, eyes stuck on Aleeya as she bounced around and jumped and climbed.

He was unaware of Zayn staring at him and smiling fondly.

“You’re a great Dad, Leeyum.”

Liam jolted up and turned to his boyfriend, “Hm, what?”

Zayn shook his head and repeated himself, fondly observing the flush on his cheeks as a result.

Liam chanced a look up at him, “Have I told you how much I love you today?”

Zayn’s face scrunched up adorably as he pretended to think, “Hmm, not today I don’t think.”

Liam played along, “Well that’s horrible and everything.”

His boyfriend giggled, causing Liam’s teasing smirk to drop as he stared at Zayn. 

The smile that teased his dreams, the eyes that had tattooed themselves onto his mind, it was all Zayn. He couldn’t dare to live without him anymore. Not now that he knew how perfect it all was.

Zayn was rambling on about something and he knew he wanted to pay attention but his thoughts were too caught up in the storm of emotions. 

“I love you.” Liam blurted out, interrupting Zayn’s train of words. 

He continued, “Like so much Zayn I can’t even explain it and it scares me. It scares me so much because I have you now and I can’t imagine my life without you anymore.”

His voice cracked on the last word as he descended into silence, not looking at Zayn.

Liam felt warm fingers snake around his left arm and a head settled on his shoulder, “I love you too, Liam. And don’t talk of a life without me in it, I’m not going anywhere, jaan.”

Zayn lifted his head to look into Liam’s eyes and the two leaned in for a kiss. It wasn’t an overwhelming kiss, it was just lips pressing onto lips and it was brief. But it was the sharing of an admission long coming. They fell into the kiss again, soft and warm that it was, just like their life at the moment.

The two sat there for a few more seconds staring at each other sappily. Liam sat up, suddenly realizing that he hadn’t checked on Aleeya for a while now.

Looking over at the play structure, his eyes trailed over the several faces and finally landed on Aleeya’s figure with her back turned towards them.

He would’ve relaxed right away if it hadn’t been for the older boy stood in front of her.

“Who’s that?” Zayn frowned over at them, and the two stood up, ready to grab Aleeya to safety.

The boy looked to be young, barely twelve maybe, and had a shock of black hair. He seemed to be saying something to Aleeya but Liam’s heart jumped to his throat when he saw the boy reach out for his little girl’s hand.

Fury, unlike any he had experienced yet, swept through him and without being aware, he marched over to them, Zayn hot on his heels.

In hindsight, Liam realized he was finally thinking like a Dad. He was ready to face anything, to take anyone down, to keep his little girl safe. He hated violence, absolutely detested it, despite the fact that he took boxing.

His own years of suffering as a child were at the hands of mindless bullying. 

But in that moment he was just about ready to get his hands around the boy’s neck and away from his angel - 

“Who are  _ you _ ?” Zayn cut to the chase, standing beside him and gently nudging Aleeya away from the boy.

Liam noticed for the first time through his haze of anger how there was a slight amount of fear in his light brown eyes.

The closer they got to the boy, however, the more he seemed to cower and cringe away from them. 

Good, thought Liam viciously, would teach him not to approach little girls like that again.

There was tell-tale tension in the moment where all four were anticipating for the other to speak.

But the young boy visibly swallowed and hesitantly spoke, “Uh I’m here to - uh- to -uh - “

To their surprise, Aleeya sighed loudly and addressed her fathers, “He’s here to take me home.”

Zayn froze, his jaw loosened in shock and devastation. He stared at Aleeya’s face but only found honesty there. So, it was true. She was - 

“She’s not going  _ anywhere _ !” Liam ground out, staring at the boy.

Zayn realized this was the first time he’d truly seen Liam’s anger. His face was flushed red and his stance was defensive, though bless his heart, he probably didn’t know who he wanted to fight.

The boy’s eyes flicked from one to the next and finally back down to Aleeya.

“She has to go home.”

Liam was shaking his head - 

Probably having reached the extent of his nervousness, the boy spat out, “ _ You _ were the one who told me to so why are you not letting me?”

There was a look of frustration in his eyes and Zayn realized with an ache in his heart that the boy was young, too young to be doing any of this on his own.

He pacified the boy with a hand held up, “Alright, easy. You’re saying Liam told you - as in Liam from the future told you to take Aleeya? And take her where exactly?”

Zayn wasn’t going to let his little girl go anywhere with anyone unless he had all the facts down.

But, he looked down at Aleeya’s easy expression, she didn’t seem all that worried.

Then again, his mind reminded, she was only a child.

Beside him, Liam seemed to have calmed down, but was obviously still on edge.

“Who  _ are  _ you even? I don’t know you from now so how can I trust you to take care of her?”

Aleeya huffed and rolled her eyes but quieted once Zayn shot her a stern look.

The boy crossed his arms and turned his head away, the wind whipping his hair up and away from his forehead.

Everything around them was silent, except for the wind. The playground seemed to have emptied as the afternoon sun beat down relentlessly on their heads. The boy wasn’t speaking. 

Liam worried at his bottom lip as he was lost in thought; he took careful note of the way he seemed familiar, the way his features were screaming something to him, like he knew him from somewhere.

He wasn’t stupid, he knew this day was coming, the day Aleeya would go back to wherever she belonged.

She didn’t belong here and now, away from her real parents, her real family. He choked back on the devious thought that they were still her family, just a little early so why not - ?

_ No _ , he stamped down on that train of thought.

Glancing towards Aleeya, he wondered if she looked at them and saw different people, whether she was really comfortable with them because, sure, they were her fathers but not really.

“Not really,” he murmured to himself, catching Zayn’s attention, who threw him a questioning look.

“Right.” Liam cleared his throat and shook himself off. They were all going nowhere standing here and arguing in the heat like children.

Or two children and two adults.

***

Zayn squirmed uncomfortably on the sofa in the living room. Aleeya was sat on the rug in front of him, patiently folding up little origami animals from papers that Karen had given her.

Everyone in Liam’s family had been appropriately confused when the three of them came back with an awkward-looking boy trailing behind them.

Nicola, bless her soul, had only rolled her eyes, “Honestly, Liam stop picking up strays.”

Karen had hissed at her to be quiet and gone to speak to Liam, who was still seething silently.

A few words later, Liam and Zayn had taken the children to the living room while Nicola and Ruth had gone up to their old bedrooms and Karen and Geoff had cleared off to give them some privacy.

The young boy, who’d finally introduced himself as Danyal, (Liam and Zayn had exchanged an uncomfortable look after they learned his name) was sitting on another sofa off to the side, visibly shaken. The source of his discomfort was coming from next to Zayn, where Liam was glaring suspiciously at him.

He pointedly cleared his throat and raised his eyebrows at Liam. Fat lot of good it would do if he just kept glaring and not talking.

Mollified by his boyfriend’s warning looks, Liam finally addressed the boy, “So you’ve told us your name but what about where you come from? I don’t mean the future, I mean how did you get here?”

The boy - Danyal - twitched and shook his head, “I don’t think I’m supposed to tell you.”

Zayn leaned forward, keeping his eyes on Danyal, “Wanna tell us how we know you?”

Aleeya’s head shot up from fumbling with a paper crane, a hopeful look in her eyes as she stared at Danyal. Under his careful gaze, he’d noticed how quiet she’d been since coming back from the park. Now, she was beginning to show signs of renewed excitement.

Seeing this, Zayn pulled on the string hopefully, “It’s obvious you’re from my side of the family. You look exactly like one of my baby cousin-brothers and you’re named after one of them too.”

The boy looked at Aleeya again, shooting a concerned glance at her and everyone else in the room.

Liam suddenly became aware of the fact. His eyes roved over the boy’s face, his golden skin a tell-tale clue, the light brown eyes so achingly dear to him and that one eye - 

Aleeya continued to stare at Danyal, her convincing grin growing until finally the boy deflated with a huge sigh.

Zayn was confused as hell, but Liam - Liam’s eyes were wide as he looked between the two children.

Without prompt, he got up and stalked towards Danyal who reacted too late by yelping and attempting to bury himself in the cushions.

Zayn was utterly baffled by his behaviour; even more so when Liam’s hand shot out and grabbed Danyal’s chin, holding his face as he observed it, leaning over the boy.

Whatever Liam saw must have affected him because his breath hitched and he rose slowly, while still staring at Danyal.

“You - ?” Liam pointed at him.

Danyal raised his eyebrows, trying to look nonchalant, “Me - ?”

“Ours?”

The boy rolled his eyes and slumped his shoulders, a strikingly familiar sullen look on his face, “Yeah, Dad.”

Liam let out a whoop of shock and excitement while the boy frowned ferociously, “ _ Damn it _ . I bet Baba I couldn’t make you all guess for at least a few hours. Now you’ve made me lose!”

Zayn ignored Liam’s shout of ‘Language!’ and focused on the ‘Baba’ and the bet. 

“Made you lose? And no - wai -  _ what _ ? Baba?”

Zayn floundered for a bit before flailing his arms, “Who’s sending all of these children and where are they even  _ coming  _ from?”

The next hour was filled with hysterics and incredulous amounts of questions, half of which Danyal avoided with ease - 

“How many more of you are there?”

“You mean how many more children you’ve had, Dad? So far just me and Leeya actually.”

“Okay but are we still popular?”

“Honestly Zayn your priorities - “

“Actually yeah Baba you guys are pretty famous.”

“What about the band - ?”

“Can’t tell you more than that, sorry!”

“When were you born?”

“Nope.”

“When is our wedding anniversary?”

“Nope, again.”

Then Aleeya joined them for a while loudly yelling ‘Bhaiyya!’ and practically tackling Danyal so she could climb up onto his shoulders. Zayn was amused and surprised to see the amount of fond patience on his son’s face.

He shook his head, chuckling, “ _ My _ son.”

Danyal looked expectantly at him like he’d been called but he shook his head and smiled at him, getting a rather familiar grin in return.

At the end of it all, though, only one person seemed to tire of the relentless tirade of questions and activity.

Danyal whined and fell over on a single sofa, “I’m tired, all of you be quiet!”

Aleeya was unbothered as she left to go upstairs to one of her aunt’s rooms, probably to pry more chocolate out of either of them.

Liam observed his son ( _ his son! _ ) and turned to Zayn, “He clearly gets your theatrics.”

But only a minute later when they heard snores coming from him, “And your love of sleep.”

Zayn stared at his boyfriend with a deadpan expression and flicked his nose painfully. 

And that was that.

They all took a long afternoon nap that day, exhausted from all the excitement and shock.

Liam had cuddled up behind his boyfriend on one of the longer sofas and hoped that Ruth or Nicola had Aleeya down for a quick one. He was pretty sure he was smiling in his sleep, his body suffused in the warmth of his boyfriend. He didn’t think much of anything else as he drifted off peacefully and dreamlessly.

That is until he woke up to the sound of Zayn shouting -

“Liam, bloody  _ fuck _ , Liam, wake up quick please.”

Every nerve in his body tensed up as he shook himself awake to see the tear-streaked frantic face of his boyfriend.

But before he could ask any questions - 

A jolt of realization slammed through his body, as he looked around the empty living room and took note of the silence around them.

“The children are gone, aren’t they?” He asked without prompt, without emotion and his heart sank to his stomach when Zayn nodded.

Liam didn’t do anything, didn’t speak, didn’t cry, just reached out and folded Zayn into his arms. He absorbed every sob, every teardrop into himself, muttering only soothing words of love.

“They’re alright, babe. They’re back and safe with us, you know. You know we’d take care of them.”

Between hiccups, Zayn answered, “Still feels - “

“Awful, I know.” Liam acknowledged, tightening his hold on his boyfriend.

There was a certain stillness in him, a sort of calm collectiveness, since he’d found out Danyal was theirs too. He knew the moment was coming and as devastating as it was, to have had them and be taken away, he knew those two were his future -  _ their  _ future.

Liam pressed a kiss to Zayn’s flyaway hair and chuckled fondly, causing his boyfriend to frown up at him.

“What?”

He smiled down at Zayn, “For the first time in my life, my future is certain.”

Zayn’s eyes softened and he reluctantly smiled back.

“For the first time, I know it’s all gonna turn out fine, just fine. And that I’m going to be happy,  _ so  _ happy, babe.”

Despite himself, Zayn chuckled and reached up to kiss Liam.

“I’ve been telling you for a long time now, jaan. Now he believes me.”

Zayn rolled his eyes teasingly, giggling and shrieking when it resulted in Liam tickling him.

Eventually, the two reached back towards each other and once again sat in an embrace in the quiet.

Not wanting to interrupt the comfortable silence between them, Zayn whispered, “So where do we go from here?”

Liam shrugged, seemingly lost in thought. Then he smiled down at his boyfriend, “Forward?”

Zayn smiled serenely, eyes twinkling like gold in the sun seeping through the open windows. 

He nodded, “Forward.”

A lone paper crane fluttered in the soft breeze and flew off the window sill into the garden.

Time to look forward now.

**Epilogue  
**   


The night was a cool one, a relief from the scorching day that it had been. Summer was at its peak, and Liam was just about done with it already. Thank God for air-conditioning.

He was also thankful that they hadn’t settled in their LA house right before Aleeya was born and took the time to refurbish their old house in the North. LA during summer was relentless and he didn’t want his newborn to suffer any of that. 

Sure summer showers here were unending but it assured that none of his children would suffer from heat stroke.

He trudged upstairs from the basement studio that he and Zayn shared, switching off the lights as he went. He didn’t want to wake up to a furious husband who scolded him for leaving the lights on and ‘it’s all about saving this and saving that Li we gotta be careful now’.

Danyal was banned from the studio, for obvious reasons; at least he wasn’t allowed there without one of his parents being there with him.

He liked to pull on the cords, the suspended microphones, play with the little buttons and sliders that looked oh-so-inviting to his four year-old mind.

When he’d ended up deleting and corrupting the latest soundbite Zayn had recorded, that’s when the ban had affected itself.

No matter how much the little boy pouted and whined, he was not allowed to go downstairs.

Sometimes, Liam would drive the kids to his Mum’s house or to Zayn’s and drop them there for a day or two so him and his husband can have some time to themselves.

The funniest bit was how Louis would tease they wanted some private time but honestly in the two days that the kids were away, Liam would get his songwriting done and Zayn would invite his team over to do his own recording.

The two would then sit down and quickly go over their social medias and monthly itineraries and plan a little further. And as soon as the children came back, the door to their basement studio would be locked shut unless one of them was in there.

So, naturally, when Daddy carelessly left the light on during that night, little Danyal took uncoordinated steps down into the basement, not realizing that the swing-door would bolt shut behind him.

Liam had gotten out of bed in the middle of the night to go check on Aleeya, who was sound asleep for the first time in the 3 months since she was born. He smiled proudly down at his little girl who was managing to sleep through the night and carefully caressed her soft cheek with a finger before exiting the nursery quietly.

Both him and Zayn had been conditioned to wake up during the night to tend to their baby girl, so Liam’s body clock had jolted him out of sleep as usual.

Oh well, he thought, now that he was awake he could check on Danyal then get some work done in the studio.

He didn’t keep up with a good routine nowadays but that was simply because the night was the best time to get any recording or writing done these days. With the kids all over the house, running both of them ragged, neither of them had the time or patience to tackle something like songwriting.

Still, could be worse.

And just as he’d thought that, he’d peeked into Danyal’s room to check on him - 

Only to find his bed empty.

Liam panicked, rushing into the room to switch on the light. He checked all around the bed, under it, in the closet where they kept his clothes, even in the drawers on his dresser.

In the end, Liam was barely holding back from shouting his name, lest he wake Aleeya.

It was like his worst nightmare come true. In this huge house of theirs, their little boy was lost.

He rushed over to Aleeya’s room in case he missed him sleeping there on the floor but nothing. Then he rushed back to their bedroom where Zayn was still sound asleep and checked everywhere.

But again, nothing.

It was only after he’d checked the other two guest bedrooms and the whole of downstairs that he truly began hyperventilating.

His voice was hoarse from whisper-shouting Danny’s name and he paused now and then to listen whether he could hear his baby crying from somewhere.

Not knowing what else to do, he hurried back upstairs, shaking Zayn awake, whose eyes reflected the same panic he felt once he’d told him everything.

It was only after twenty minutes of frantic searching everywhere in the house and even outside that Liam remembered the basement studio.

He all but collapsed with relief once he neared the door with the light streaming from under it and heard his boy - his little boy - crying.

“Zayn, he’s here!” Liam called out and together the two of them pried the door open.

Just as it was open enough, he reached in and grabbed Danyal, pulling him tightly against his chest, falling backwards onto his husband.

Danyal sobbed in fear, and Liam wept with him. 

Safe to say, Danyal had gotten the lecture of his lifetime that night.

But unbeknownst to anyone else outside of the house, that night, Liam and Zayn had gathered their children all into their own bedroom and slept soundlessly.

Danyal was tucked in between them while Aleeya’s crib was close enough to their bed where Liam could reach out with a hand and touch her cheek whenever he wanted to.

***

Zayn cringed at the sound of the incessant rustling of paper and string in the morning breeze.

“Do you need to put these many up?” He asked Liam, who was mindlessly stringing up all the paper cranes he had folded up in the days before.

“Yeah ‘course, why?” Liam asked absent-mindedly.

“It’s a bit much, no?”

Zayn observed as Liam pouted, lips red and shiny despite the shaggy beard he was growing nowadays. 

“She likes paper cranes.” He stated determinedly and turned back to his work.

Thoroughly amused, Zayn persisted, “How do you know she actually likes them? Maybe she grew up to like them because you forced her to make paper cranes.”

Liam let out a mock-gasp, “Are you saying I Stockholm-Syndromed my own daughter to like paper cranes? You’re a crazy man, Malik, I don’t know why I married you.”

He shook his head and turned back to the mobile he was setting over her crib. The baby herself was sound asleep in her Baba’s arms, her mouth lazily clasped around a pacifier.

Zayn leaned down to nose through the downy hair on Aleeya’s head, appreciating the scent of baby powder coming from her.

A ringing from his pocket had him snapping out of the moment.

Liam helpfully reached over and took his phone out, accepting Niall’s video call with a surprised ‘ah’.

His husband held up the phone so that all three of them fit into the screen.

“Payno! Zaynie!”

They exchanged greetings, asking how either of them were doing. Liam didn’t tell his friend about the incident from last night, hoping to dramatically re-tell it at their next get-together.

Speaking of which, Liam asked, “So give it to me straight Ni, are you gonna be here for dinner today or not?”

Niall made a pouty face, “Nah, mate. Tha’s why I called ye'. Won’t be able to make it, still got one more thing to do before I’m free. Sorry, mate.”

Both Zayn and Liam were disappointed, but that was a regular occurrence for all five of them. It was just as difficult juggling fatherhood between the four of them. Add to that their careers, and it was near impossible for them to coordinate meet-ups. 

Still, Liam didn’t want to give up as easily, and was planning a vacation for all five of them with their children.

Niall’s tinny voice shouted out, snapping Liam out of his reverie, “Alright enough from you two. Show me my little nuggets!”

Liam laughed and angled the phone over Aleeya in Zayn’s arms who squirmed but didn’t wake even from all the kissing noises Niall was making.

“Now where’s my chicken boy?”

Zayn sighed, “Don’t call my son a chicken - “

But Liam was already walking away to the room opposite, which was where Danyal sat playing with his toys and was probably making a mess of everything.

“There’s my little chicken boy - look how he’s waddling over to - aww my little lad!”

In Aleeya’s room, Zayn laughed to himself and shook his head, there was no reasoning with Niall.

But it made him incandescently happy to know how loved his children were.

This was made even more obvious once Harry and Louis arrived with their little twins in tow.

Danny ran around like a heathen, almost waking Aleeya from her nap. Lily and Darcy joined him and the three kids ran circles around a sofa tirelessly as their parents stared at them, baffled and open-mouthed.

Louis was the first to snap out of it and look around, “Right can we blame Niall? I’m blaming Niall.”

And with that, he plopped himself down on the sofa and looked expectantly at the rest of them.

Liam shook his head fondly at Louis, and moved to join him. Zayn leaned closer to take a look at Harry’s hands.

“Whatcha got there, Haz?”

“Oh this is a taco casserole!” Harry proclaimed and displayed it proudly to his friend.

Zayn nodded appreciatively and set it on the table just as Aleeya made a small sound from her movable crib in the lounge.

Liam had moved her, crib and supplies and all downstairs. With the events of last night still fresh on his mind, he wanted all his children in front of him at all times.

Even Zayn’s good-natured ‘You’re a mother hen’ didn’t make him change his mind. It would be a new day in hell, the day he stopped worrying over his little babies.

The three little hellhounds continued to shout and scream bloody murder so Zayn and Harry quickly ushered them to the little alcove in the lounge that Zayn had decorated and set up for Danyal. It had a toy chest, a few chests of stuffed toys, a few art supplies as well as a small TV for his cartoons. It was every little boy’s dream corner.

Meanwhile, Louis had made his way over to Aleeya’s crib and was cooing softly and singing gently to her so Liam took the opportunity to set the table up.

All four of them sat down for dinner, for a moment ruefully missing Niall who was stuck doing promo in LA. The five of them had scheduled to meet up in the next month for the holidays and even stay over so they could have their family moments too.

Harry with his usual air of drama and flair, took the foil covering off the casserole dish with a theatrical swish.

Louis beamed up at his husband and looked down and - 

His smile dropped.

“What the fuck is that avocado doing on there?”

Liam groaned and buried his head in his arms on the table, Harry looked put-out and Zayn bit his lip to hide his grin.

“It’s not avocados, it’s guacamole.”

“Yeah same shit, it’s all green and -”

“That’s because it’s guacamole  _ made  _ from avocados, Lou -”

“No that’s just avocados, there’s nothing guacamole about that - “

A loud screech went through the dining hall with Darcy scrambling out of the room screaming, “I want to go poop!”

It was loud enough to wake Aleeya who cried mournfully to be fed since it’d been two hours since her last feed.

Danny plopped over the little rug on the alcove and promptly fell asleep as Lily stared confusedly at her parents bickering over the taco casserole, which lay pathetically cold now.

**-the end-**

**Author's Note:**

> Translations:  
> Thora aur khaalo - Eat some more  
> Aur nai chahiye - Don't want more  
> Theek hai - Alright
> 
> Hope you all enjoyed x  
> Tumblr: ohthathurt


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